THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


HOW    TO   LIVE: 


SAVING  AND  WASTING, 


§attustu  (£  con  01115 


BY    THE 

LIFE  OF  Two  FAMILIES  OF  OPPOSITE  CHARACTER,  HABITS,  AND  PBAG- 
TICES,  IN  A  PLEASANT  TALE  OF  REAL  LIFE,  FULL  OF  USEFUL  LES- 
SONS IN  HOUSEKEEPING,  AND  HINTS  How  TO  LIVE,  How  TO 
HAVK.  How  TO  GAIN,  AND  How  TO  BE  HAPPY  ;  IN- 
CLUDING  THE  STORY 


A   DIME   A   DAY. 


BY  SOLON  KOBINSON. 


¥orft: 

FOWLER  AND  A^ELLS,  -PUBLISHERS, 

No.    308    BROADWAY. 
IStJO. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


No  man,  woman  or  child,  can  read  this  book  with- 
out being  interested  in  its  pleasant  narrative  and 
exposition  of  human  character,  and  instructed  in  its 
lessons  of  economy,  in  things  that  pertain  to  every  day 
life,  in  every  family.  It  is  written  by  one  of  much 
experience,  with  the  sole  design  to  do  good.  It  is  a 
good  book,  written  for  a  good  purpose,  and  peculiarly 
Avell  adapted  to  the  use  of  all  new-beginners  in  house- 
keeping. It  may  be  read  with  profit  by  all  classes, 
and  we  are  confident  that  no  one  can  read  it  without 
Jjein<r  interested,  amused,  and  instructed. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAW 

Ecououiy  Illustrated  in  a  pair  of  shoes — Mrs.  Doolittle  is  disgusted 

with  the  meanness  of  Mrs.  Savery — She  contrasts  Mrs.  Savery's 
kitchen  with  her  own — How  to  make  a  corn  cake — Pictures  of 
health — Children  and  check  aprons — Mrs.  Doolittle  upon  corn- 
meal  cake — Mrs.  Doolittle  disgusted  with  tiie  economy  of  a  supper 
that  costs  nothing — Trees  that  bear  fruit,  and  trees  that  don't 
bear  fruit — How  to  work  a  garden — Economy  of  space — The 
Watermelon,  and  where  it  grew — Delicate  children — Going  to 
marry  a  mechanic,  .........  9-21 

CHAPTER  II. 

Sulinda  Lovewell — A  nine  days'  wonder— Studying  economy — Eco- 
nomy of  the  bed-room  arrangements — The  oaken  box — The  lame 
boy,  and  the  economy  of  kindness — The  trunks  and  their  contents 
—The  economy  of  ventilation — Warming  the  house— A  new  radia- 
tor—The book  shelves — Hanging  up  the  dresses — Making  much  of 
little  room — Economy  in  furniture — New  use  of  a  trunk — The 
Magic  Chair — Mattress  making — Economizing  time — Making  rag 
carpets — The  Doolittle  family — Fancy  work — Works  of  fiction — 
The  way  that  children  should  greet  their  mother — Lillie  and  Frank 
— Brothers  and  sisters — Evening  readings — Good  books — Punctu- 
ality— There  comes  father — A  warm  greeting— Teachings  of  affec- 


X  CONTENTS. 

F101 

tion— The  tea-table — Good  breeding — Corn  cakes— Mush — White 
and  yellow  meal — Economy  of  silver  ware — Housekeeping — Pro- 
per food— True  art  of  cooking— Tea-table  lectures— How  to  boil  a 
piece  of  meat — The  secret  of  good  food,  ....  $4-82 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  breakfast — Harmony — Economy  in  food — Dough-nuts — Econo- 
mv  ot  time — The  musquito  net — Carpets  and  calicoes — Gratetul 
reminiscences — Rats  and  their  counterparts — The  magnetic  power 
of  a  smile — Scripture  answers — How  to  make  bread — Saving  stale 
bread— Bees  in  the  city— The  plain  dinner — Greens— Account 
with  the  garden— Work  for  a  day — What  a  remarkable  boy— How 
he  was  home  taught — There  is  a  cause  for  everything— Studying 
ship-building  -All  for  the  best — Mind  culture — Keeping  out  moths 
— Saving  trifles  —  The  poultry  house— Deodorizing— The  grape- 
vine— The  garden — Economy  of  space— The  cistern — Washing 
dishes — Something  worth  economy — Cheap  soap — Making  tea,  83-120 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  tea— Vegetable  diet — Effect  of  pork  eating — Opinion  of  tobacco- 
— Excerpta  upon  domestic  economy — Cause  of  puny  children — 
Salt,  is  it  necessary? — Polly  in  eating — Digestion — Argument  for 
drinking — Uselessness  of  condiments  in  food — Clothing — Such  is 
fashion — Suitable  clothing: — Polly  in  eating  and  sleeping — Early 
rising— Walking  exercise — Be  courteous — Value  of  good  temper — 
Rules  of  household  economy — Punctuality — Household  teachings 
— Botany — Poor  economy — Economy  is  not  parsimony — Learn  to 
say  I  can't  afford  it— Care  of  the  sick — Cure  of  Erysipelas— Family 
amusements,  .  .  .  .. 122-1S4J 

CHAPTER    V. 

Saturday  in  the  kitchen — The  rice  pudding — Soup — Preparation  for 
Sunday — Iced  tea — A  day  of  recreation — How  to  treat  servants — 


MM 

Horsemanship  for  girls — Magnetic  power  of  the  voice — The  Doo- 

littles'  turn-out — My  smelling  bottle,  or  I  shall  faint — Vulgar  things 
— Forgetfulness-rThe  visit  to  the  country — A  sensible  man's  will 
— Mrs.  Whitlock — The  welcome — The  farm-house — Trees  by  the 
roadside  —  The  four  buildings — The  barn — The  wind-mill — The 
strawberry  bed — Uncle  Samuel  and  the  children — The  farm-house 
tea-table — Country  bread — Natural  homage — Meeting  the  Doolit- 
tles— Thinking  one  thing  and  saying  another — The  contrast — The 
Doolittle  farm — Strawberries  and  cream  at  home — Something  bet- 
ter— My  dear  little  wife — Happy  hearts 153-196 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Visit  to  the  Doolittles — Out  of  tune — A  garden  in  shocking  order — 
The  boys — Influence  upon  character — Rough  and  tumble  fight  of 
the  boys,  and  the  result — Oil  upon  the  waters — A  scene  behind  the 
scenes — Another  crash — The  Doolittle  tea-table — The  stolen  milk 
—A  lesson  learned  for  life, 198-212 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Doolittle  coming  home — The  effect  of  home  influences — The  effect  of 
drinking— Walls  have  ears— The  listener — Plotting  villains — Doo- 
little £<;ts  his  picture  taken — Insubordination — A  family  scene — 
Leaving  home — The  pledge — Doolittle  in  the  lawyer's  office — A  con- 
tretemps— The  budget  of  news — The  experiment  of  city  life 
ended, 213-286 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

A  change  of  character — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Doolittle — A  match  broken 
up— The  return  home— Forgiveness— Mr.  Doolittle  and  daughters 
— An  affecting  scene — Talk  of  moving — A  death  scene,  .  236-244 


j  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IX. 

PAQl 

8ht  months  on  time's  railroad — Talk  of  marriage — A  lesson  of  eco- 
nomy— As  man  and  wife  should  live — The  old  house — The  pleasant 
surprise — The  old  bed-room — Goodness  and  happiness — House 
furnishing — The  kitchen,  parlor,  and  bed-rooms — A  pleasant 
meeting — Captain  Peabody  and  Salinda — The  approaching  wed- 
ding day — The  Doolittle  girls — A  great  chan^i—  The  way  to  spend 
winter  evenings — Business  punctuality — The  mysterious  package 
— Gratitude — Another  suspense — The  wedding  ana  the  end,  247-876 


CHAPTER   I. 

Economy  Illustrated  in  a  Pair  of  Shoes — Mrs.  Doolittle  is 
Disgusted. 

"  OH,  dear  me,  Mrs.  Lovewell,  I  am  heartily 
tired  of  visiting  that  Mrs.  Savery.  What  do 
you  suppose  I  found  her  doing  yesterday  after- 
noon, when  you  know  it  was  so  pleasant  that 
everybody  was  in  the  street  ?  Oh,  you  need 
not  guess ;  I  am  sure  you  never  would  think 
of  the  right  thing." 

"  Indeed,  I  don't  know  that  I  could,  but  I 
have  no  doubt  it  was  something  useful.  Prac- 
ticing some  of  her  arts  of  economy,  I  sup- 


"  Economy  indeed  !     Why,  it  is  downright 
1* 


10  ECONOMY     ILLUSTRATED. 

meanness.  I  should  be  mortified  to  death, 
if  I  was  caught  at  such  a  piece  of  busi- 
ness." 

"  Why,  Mrs.  Doolittle,  you  alarm  me. 
Pray,  what  was  she  about  ?" 

"  About,  indeed !  Why,  she  was  making  a 
pair  of  shoes." 

"  Slippers,  you  mean,  I  suppose  ;  I  often  do 
that  for  my  husband." 

"  Oh,  yes,  worsted  work ;  that  is  a  very  dif- 
ferent thing.  No,  it  was  a  pair  of  shoes  for 
herself.  She  had  taken  a  pair  of  old  shoe- 
soles,  from  which  the  tops  had  been  worn  out, 
and  had  cut  new  uppers  from  an  old  pair  of 
her  husband's  black  lasting  pantaloons.  Did 
you  ever  hear  the  like!  I  was  really  dis- 
gusted to  hear  her  talk  about  it." 

"  Why,  what  did  she  say." 

"Why,  she.  said,  'there  now,  Mrs.  Doo- 
little, I  sat  down  after  dinner,  and  commenced 
the  job,  with  Susan  to  help  me  rip  oif  the  old 
soles  and  bind  one  of  the  new  shoes,  and  now 
you  see  I  have  got  just  as  good  a  pair  of  shoes, 
and  for  aught  I  see,  just  as  good  looking  as  the 
old  pair  that  I  paid  a  dollar  and  a  half  for. 


A    NEAT    KITCHEN.  11 

And  that  is  what  I  call  economy.  Now  I  will 
go  and  show  Susan  how  to  make  a  new  corn 
cake  for  tea.  Don't  you  want  to  learn  ?' 

"  I  told  her  no  indeed  ;  when  I  got  so  poor, 
and  I  put  a  real  meaning  emphasis  upon  the 
word — when  I  got  so  poor  that  I  could  not 
keep  a  cook  that  knew  how  to  do  her  own 
work,  I  would  come  and  learn  the  trade." 

"Was  she  offended?  Indeed  Mrs.  Doolittle, 
you  were  rather  rude.  You  might  have 
learned  how  to  make  a  very  nice  cake." 

"  "Well  I  must  acknowledge  that  I  did ;  no, 
she  was  not  the  least  offended,  but  insisted 
that  I  should  go  down  with  her  to  the  kitchen 
and  see  how  it  was  done.  I  had  a  good  mind 
to  refuse,  for  I  expected  that  I  should  get  a 
grease  spot  on  my  new  silk,  just  as  like  as  not. 
I  am  sure  I  should  in  my  kitchen  ;  but  would 
you  believe  it,  hers  is  as  clean  as  a  new  pin. 
Why  the  very  floor  looks  as  white  and  clean 
as  a  table.  I  do  think  she  must  keep  that 
Susan  of  hers  scrubbing  all  the  time.  For  my 
part  I  don't  see  how  she  ever  gets  through  all 
the  work  an£  do  the  washing  too.  I  wish  I 
could  get  such  help." 


]"2  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

"  Mrs.  Savery  says  it  is  by  economy.  Econo- 
my of  time,  as  well  as  everything  else.  Bui 
about  the  nice  corn  cake  ?" 

"Oh  yes.  Well  I  never;  why  it  was  just 
nothing  to  make.  I  could  have  made  it  just 
as  well  as  she  did." 

"If  you  had  known  how." 

"  "Why  yes,  to  be  sure ;  but  it  is  nothing  to 
learn ;  and  then  to  hear  her  count  the  cost. 
Why  she  would  feed  a  whole  family  for  six- 
pence. In  the  first  place  she  took  a  cup  of 
Indian  corn  meal,  not  over  three  cents  worth, 
she  said,  and  white  at  that — I  always  use 
yellow  meal — it  has  more  taste  than  the  white 
— and  put  it  in  a  clean  wooden  bowl,  and  what 
do  you  think  she  mixed  with  it,  to  make  her 
cake?  Water;  nothing  but  water.  Yes  a 
little  pinch  of  salt;  but  that  she  said  she  could 
not  count  the  cost  of,  it  was  so  small ;  and  theu 
she  mixed,  and  stirred,  and  beat  the  meal  and 
water  together  as  though  she  was  beating  eggs, 
until  she  got  it  into  a  smooth  batter,  that 
would  just  pour  into  a  shallow  tin  pan,  about 
an  inch  deep.  The  cake  when  done  was  about 
as  thick  as  my  thumb.  She  first  put  the  pan 


SKAT    CHILUKEN.  13 

into  a  very  hot  oven  and  let  it  cook  until  the 
batter  got  stiff,  and  then  she  opened  the  stove 
doors  and  set  the  cake  up  edgeways  right 
before  the  glowing  coals  until  it  got  a  nice 
delicate  brown  crust,  and  then  drew  it  back 
and  let  it  bake  slow  a  long  time — half  an  hour 
or  more  I  should  think." 

"  And  was  it  good  ?" 

"  Good  !  why  I  declare  I  never  tasted  any- 
thing so  delicious  in  all  my  life.  I  wouldn't 
have  believed  it,  that  just  meal  and  water 
could  be  made  so  good.  But  that  is  not  all. 
Just  as  she  had  got  her  cake  turned  up  before 
the  fire,  in  came  her  two  children — such  pic- 
tures of  health — did  you  ever  see  the  like !" 

"  She  says  that  is  '  the  economy  of  health.' 
It  is  cheaper  to  keep  them  healthy  than  sick, 
as  well  as  more  comfortable.  You  found  them 
very  neat,  too." 

"Neat!  I  never  saw  the  like.  But  it's  no 
wonder;  look  at  the  pains  she  takes  with  them. 
Why,  it  must  keep  Susan  busy  all  the  time." 

"Then  who  does  the  work?" 

"  Well,  I  don't  know.  I  can't  understand 
it.  1  wish  I  could  get  alons?  so.  But  then 


14  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

my  children  are  always  sick.  Hers  are  always 
well  and  that  makes  the  difference." 

"  No,  the  difference  is  in  always  keeping 
them  well.  But  you  were  going  to  tell  us 
something  more  about  the  cake." 

"  Oh,  yes.  When  the  children  came  in, 
Lillie  said," 

"  Oh  mother,  will  you  let  me  bake  a  sweet 
cake  for  brother  Frank  and  me  ?" 

"  Yes,  if  you  will  run  up  to  your  room  and 
put  away  your  things,  and  get  on  your  aprons." 

"  Directly  down  they  came,  and  as  I  live, 
both  of  them  with  check  aprons  on.  I  should 
not  like  to  see  my  children  dressed  in  check 
aprons.  It  looks  so  common,  and  sort  of 
countrytied.  Then  Lillie  took  the  bowl  of 
batter,  and  got  a  part  of  a  teacupful  of  mo- 
lasses, and  a  spoonful  of  ginger,  and  stirred  it 
in,  and  then  she  got  a  cup  of  sour  milk ;  and 
'what  do  you  think  that  was  for  ?" 

"  I  suppose  to  put  in  the  cake." 

"  Yes,  but  first  she  mixed  with  it  a  little 
super  cq/rbonate  of  soda,  until  she  set  it  all 
foaming,  and  then  stirred  it  into  the  batter, 
with  a  little  more  meal  to  thicken  it  again, 


THK    I'OKN    r.VKK.  15 

and  poured  it  into  an  iron  pan  about  twice  as 
deep  as  the  other,  and  clapped  it  right  into 
the  hot  oven,  where  it  baked  until  we  had 
almost  done  tea,  and  then  Susan  brought  it  in 
smoking  hot,  and  Mrs.  Savery  cut  it  up  into 
squares,  opening  each  piece  and  laying  on  a 
little  lump  of  sweet  butter,  and  so  serving  it 
round  to  each  one  ;  and  would  you  believe  it, 
in  a  respectable  family,  that  that  was  the  only 
cake  on  the  table.  I  declare  I  had  no  great 
opinion  of  corn  meal  sweet  cake,  it  seemed  to 
look  so  mean ;  and  then  I  had  already  eaten 
hearty  of  the  plain  cake,  and  did  not  think  I 
would  touch  this  one,  but  Lillie,  with  her 
insinuating  little  coaxing  way — -I  don't  know 
who  could  resist  her — said  I  must  taste  her 
cake,  and  with  that  she  asked  me  to  take  my 
knife  and  lay  it  open,  and  then  she  took  a 
spoonful  of  juice  out  of  the  quince  preserves, 
and  spread  over  it,  and  I  began  tasting  and 
tasting,  and  would  you  believe  it,  the  first  I 
thought  about  what  I  was  doing,  I  had  cleared 
my  plate,  and  Lillie  was  helping  me  to 
another  piece ;  she  was  so  delighted  to  see 
mo  eat  it  with  such  a  relish,  when  I  only 


16  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

intended  to  '  give  it  a  taste,  just  out  of  com- 
pliment.' ' 

"  Then  it  was  good  ?" 

"  Good  !  I  never  tasted  anything  more 
delicious.  I  have  often  had  a  cake  upon  my 
table  that  I  paid  a  dollar  for  that  did  not  give 
half  as  much  satisfaction  ;  the  bakers  are 
getting  to  cheat  so  dreadfully.  I  could  have 
forgiven  her  about  her  meanness — don't  you 
think  it  is  meanness  ? — in  making  shoes,  or 
putting  check  aprons  on  her  children,  if  she 
had  not  preached  me  one  of  her  sermons 
upon  economy,  and  actually  proved  to  me 
that  the  supper,  delicious  as  it  was,  had 
literally  cost  nothing — that  is  next  to  nothing. 
There  was  the  meal  three  cents — the  molasses 
and  salt  and  soda,  three  cents — the  tea,  two 
cents — the  sugar  and  milk,  two  cents — the 
butter — butter  is  high  now,  but  that  was  not 
over  four  cents — and  let  me  see,  was  that  all?" 

"  You  mentioned  some  quince  preserves." 

"  Oh,  yes,  but  she  said  they  actually  cost 
less  than  nothing.  About  eleven  years  ago — 
it  was  to  commemorate  the  first  birthday  of 
Frank — she  planted  a  quince  bnsh,  and  then 


PLANTING   A   TKEE.  17 

she  told  bow  she  made  it  grow,  and  bear  fruit. 
She  said  she  always  kept  the  ground  loose 
and  covered  in  the  summer  with  straw,  which 
she  wets  with  soap  suds  and  dishwater,  and 
last  year  her  quince  tree  bore  more  than  she 
wanted ;  and  so  a  friend  of  hers  came  and 
brought  her  own  sugar,  and  did  all  the  work, 
and  put  up  the  quinces  at  the  halves,  while 
Mrs.  Savery  was  away  on  a  visit  in  the 
country.  So  she  proved,  you  see,  that  they 
really  did  cost  nothing.  I  wish  I  could 
live  so." 

"  I  don't  see  why  you  could  not,  you  have 
got  a  nice  place  for  a  garden." 

"  Yes,  full  of  bushes  and  flowers,  but  I  have 
got  no  quince  tree." 

"  But  you  must  do  as  Mrs  Savery  did  ; 
plant  one." 

"  Yes,  and  I  might  not  live  till  it  bore  fruit. 
And  besides,  I  never  could  do  as  she  does. 
We  hire  all  our  work,  and  I  often  tell  Mr. 
Doolittle  it  costs  more  to  raise  a  few  roses  and 
flowers  than  it  would  to  buy  them.  But  then 
our  girls  must  have  a  garden." 


18  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

"  Don't  you  know  how  Mrs.  Savery  works 
hers?" 

"  Oh,  yes  :  her  husband  is  a  mechanic,  and 
knows  how  to  work,  and  don't  mind  it,  and  he 
spades  up  the  ground  before  breakfast,  and 
then  Mrs.  Savery  and  the  children,  and  Susan 
all  work  at  it,  and  that  is  the  way  they  make 
their  things  cost  nothing.  We  live  different, 
you  know." 

"  Perhaps  they  make  it  a  pleasure,  instead 
of  toil.  I  recollect  going  in  there  one  day 
last  summer — the  door  was  open,  and  it  was 
just  at  sundown,  so  I  walked  in  and  through 
the  house — the  tea-table  was  standing,  just  as 
they  left  it,  and  all  hands  were  out  in  the  gar- 
den as  busy  as  bees.  I  recollect  Lillie  was 
saving  safron,  which  Mi's.  Savery  said  would 
sell  for  enough  to  pay  for  all  the  medicine  they 
used  in  a  year. 

Frank  was  cutting  his  third  crop  of  grass 
from  the  borders,  which  he  sold  to  old  Capt. 
Peabody,  for  I  don't  know  how  many  quarts 
of  milk.  The  old  lady,  you  know,  makes  a 
living  from  her  two  cowjs.  I  declare  there 


THE    GARDEN.  19 

was  not  a  spot  in  that  garden  that  hadn't  some- 
thing useful  growing  in  it.  But  that  was  not 
all;  I  do  believe  that  garden  is  the  great  secret 
of  health  of  those  children. 

As  soon  as  Lillie  saw  me,  she  ran  up  and 
shook  hands,  and  said,  "  she  was  so  glad  I  had 
come,  for  father  was^just  wishing  that  some  of 
our  friends  would  come  in,  and  then  he  would 
eut  the  big  melon." 

"  Melons !  why,  do  they  raise  melons  upon 
that  little  patch  of  ground  ?" 

"  Why  no,  I  cannot  say  they  do  exactly,  for 
the  seed  was  planted  in  a  barrel  of  earth  set 
on  the  flagging,  and  the  vines  were  trained  up 
on  top  of  a  little  flat  roof  building  in  the  yard, 
and  there  they  grew  six  or  eight  feet  from  the 
ground,  some  sweet  delicious  water-melons. 
That  was  what  Mr.  Savery  said  was  the  econo- 
my of  space.  It  was  '  economy  of  space '  in- 
deed ;  for  underneath  the  barrel  of  earth,  was 
one  full  of  ashes,  saved  from  their  chamber 
stove,  where  they  burn  wood,  and  that  barrel 
used  to  run  off  a  little  lye  to  soften  the  hard 
water  of  their  well." 

"  Oh,  I  always  buy  potash." 


20  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

''  And  she  always  saves  it.  A  gallon  of  lye 
will  soften  a  large  kettle  full  of  hard-water, 
and  as  you  see,  said  Mr.  Savery,  takes  up  no 
room,  and  the  leached  ashes  make "  excellent 
manure.  That  is  what  makes  Frank's  grass 
grow  so  rank,  and  our  fruit  trees  look  so 
thrifty." 

u  Well,  did  you  eat  the  melon?" 

u  Oh  yes,  as  soon  as  Lillie  mentioned  it,  her 
father  got  up  and  brought  it  down,  and  Susan 
drew  a  pail  of  cold  water  and  put  it  in ;  and 
Frank  said  then  he  would  run  over  and  ask 
Aunt  Mary  and  the  girls,  to  come  and  join  the 
water-melon  party ;  and  upon  my  word,  I  do 
think  it  was  the  sweetest  melon,  and  sweetest 
family  circle  I  ever  got  into  in  all  my  life." 

"  And  was  it  big  enough  for  all  of  you  ?" 

"  Oh  yes.  I  have  often  paid  three  or  four 
shillings  for  one  nothing  like  as  good.  And 
while  we  were  eating — or  rather  while  we 
were  talking,  after  satisfying  all  of  our  appe- 
tites, Susan  and  all,  Mr.  Savery  told  Lillie  to 
get  her  little  account  book,  and  show  me,  not 
only  how  she  was  learning  to  keep  accounts, 
but  how  much  they  were  indebted  to  the  gar- 


CHVCK    APRONS    AND   THICK    SHOES.  21 

den.  Really  I  never  could  have  believed  it. 
But  the  best  of  all,  said  he,  it  teaches  my  chil- 
dren habits  of  industry  and  economy." 

"  Oh  yes,  that  word  economy  always  comes 
in." 

"  Well,  I  am  sure  it  is  a  very  good  word, 
and  at  this  time  particularly  necessary  for  all 
to  learn,  and  practice  too.  It  would  save  much 
suffering  among  the  poor." 

"Yes,  it  maybe  necessary  for  mechanics, 
and  such  sort  of  folks,  to  be  always  saving, 
but  thank  fortune,  my  family  are  able  to  live 
without  working  like  common  laborers  in  the 
garden  every  day.  Besides,  my  children  ain't 
able  to  do  it ;  they  are  very  delicate." 

"  Perhaps,  Mrs.  Doolittle,  it  is  the  garden, 
and  check  aprons,  and  thick  shoes,  and  corn 
bread,  and  all  that,  that  makes  Mr.  Savery's 
children  so  healthy.  And  certainly,  when 
they  are  dressed  for  church,  there  are  none 
that  look  prettier,  or  attract  more  attention  by 
their  pretty  behavior ;  if  they  do  work  in  the 
garden  and  get  ruddy  faces,  and  dirty  fingers." 

"Well,  well,  if  you  ain't  getting  to  be  a 
convert  to  the  Savervs'  economy.  I  shall 


22  KCONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

expect  to  see  you  soon,  making  your  own 
shoes." 

"  I  don't  know  as  to  that,  but  I  will  tell  you 
what  you  may  see  me  doing — and  I  intend  to 
begin  to-morrow — and  that  is  taking  lessons  in 
the  art  of  house-keeping.  You  know  my 
daughter,  Salinda,  is  soon  to  be  married,  and  I 
think  we  had  better  give  Mrs.  Savery  five 
hundred  dollars  of  her  portion,  for  some  lessons 
in  the  economy  of  house-keeping,  the  practice 
of  which  in  time  will  pay  it  back,  twice  over." 

"  And  so  you  are  going  to  get  her  to  give 
your  daughter  the  finish  of  her  education,  after 
all  you  have  done  for  her.  Well,  well,  I  am 
beat  now." 

"I  shall  certainly  make  her  the  offer.  I 
have  been  thinking  about  it  for  some  time ; 
and  now  what  you  have  told  me  has  fully  con- 
vinced me  that  a  quarter's  tuition  from  Mrs. 
Savery,  will  be  worth  more  than  any  quarter 
she  ever  had  at  boarding-school,  or  from  her 
music  master  or  French  teacher;  for  to  be 
candid  with  you,  Salinda  is  going  to  marry  a 
mechanic." 

"  A  mechanic !    Oh  my  !    the  richest  mer- 


MARRY     A    .MECHANIC.  28 

chant's  daughter  in  town,  going  to  marry  a 
mechanic.  Well  now  I  must  go,  and  tell  the 
news.  What  will  my  girls  think !  good  bye." 
"  Good  bye.  Yes,  yes,  Mrs.  Doolittle,  tell 
your  girls,  and  all  the  rest  of  your  acquaint- 
ance, that  Salinda  Lovewell,  is  going  to  take 
lessons  of  economy  of  Mrs.  Savery,  and  then 
marry  a  poor  mechanic.  Well,  we  shall  see, 
whether  that  won't  be  good  economy. 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 


CHAPTER  IT. 

The  Merchant's  Daughter — Preparation  for  Marriage. 

SAUNDA  was  a  sensible  girl,  and  was  de- 
lighted with  the  project,  hinted  at  in  the  close 
of  the  last  chapter.  She  had  been  all  her  life 
in  a  boarding-school,  and  knew  no  more  of 
keeping  house,  than  though  she  had  never 
lived  inside  of  one.  But  as  she  had  made  up 
her  mind  to  marry,  and  as  her  mother  said,  a 
mechanic,  and  as  Mrs.  Doolittle  said,  nothing 
but  a  mechanic,  she  began  to  think  that  she 
knew  nothing  about  the  very  thing  she  should 
know  about,  and  asked  her  mother  what  she 
was  to  do. 

Her  mother  knew  the  theory,  but  as  she  had 
been  a  long  time  living  in  a  hotel,  she  could 
not  teach  her  the  practice.  She  knew  Mrs. 
Savery  could,  and  she  intended  to  make  it  an 
object  for  her  to  do  it. 

That  very  evening,  Charley  Goodman  was 
to  call  and  have  a  talk  with  Salinda  and  her 


HOW    TO    BEGIN    LIFE.  25 

father  and  mother,  to  fix  upon  the  wedding 
day.  Of  course  he  wanted  it  soon — the  sooner 
the  better. 

"  Charlie,  said  Mr.  Lovewell,  I  have  given 
my  consent  freely  to  this  match,  but  I  am 
afraid  that  neither  you  nor  Salinda,  know  any- 
thing about  the  economy  of  house-keeping, 
and  if  you  marry  a  girl  ignorant  of  that,  one 
who  has  been  a  reputed  rich  merchant's 
daughter,  I  am  afraid  that  with  your  salary 
of  a  thousand  dollars  a  year,  you  will  run 
under.  What  think  you  my  boy  ?" 

"  Why  sir,  that  you  began  with  that,  in  ex- 
actly the  same  position  that  I  am,  and  you  got 
along  pretty  well," 

"  True,  but  I  married  the  mother  of  the  girl 
you  are  after :  and  in  less  extravagant  times 
than  these,  and  for  two  years  she  did  her  own 
work,  with  the  assistance  of  a  little  girl  she 
took,  almost  from  the  street." 

"  And  so  will  I  do  my  work,  father,  if  you 
wnll  give  me  a  chance  to  learn  how.  Let  me 
go  and  live  one  year  with  Mrs.  Savery — I  am 
sure  Charley  will  wait — or  even  half  that  time. 
[  shall  know  how.  and  I  hope  shall  be  able 


26  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

to  take  care  of  my  own  house,  and  live  com- 
fortably, without  being  dependent  upon  my 
father,  or  using  up  all  the  income  of  my  hus- 
band." 

"  Spoken  like  a  sensible  girl,  and  worthy  of 
the  honest  man  you  have  chosen  for  a  husband. 
I  am  sure  he  will  be  willing  to  wait  for  this 
finishing  touch  of  your  education.  When 
will  you  go  ?" 

"If  you  are  all  willing,  and  Mrs.  Savery 
will  take  me  as  her  pupil,  I  will  go  to-morrow 
morning." 

"  Agreed.  Do  you  all  say  agreed.  Very 
well.  I  will  answer  for  Mrs.  Savery.  And 
Susan,  what  a  proud  day  for  Susan,  for  it  was 
her  that  your  mother  took,  a  poor  friendless 
orphan,  and  learned  how  to  work,  and  become 
the  useful  woman  she  is.  Come  wife,  let  ns 
go  and  see  Mrs.  Savery,  while  the  young 
couple  have  a  chat  together  upon  future  pros- 
pects." 

It  was  a  nine  days  wonder  with  Salinda's 
acquaintance,  and  boarding-school  compan- 
ions, when  they  heard  that  such  a  rich  man's 
daughter,  had  not  only  agreed  to  marry  a  plain 


LEARNING   HOUSEKEEPING.  27 

mechanic,  but  had  gone  to  serve  a  year's  ap- 
prenticeship to  learn  house-keeping,  and  some 
of  the  most  foolish  ones,  including  the  Doo- 
littles,  resolved  to  "  cut  her  acquaintance," 
as  they  had  no  idea  of  associating  with  a 
"kitchen  girl,"  or  a  "mechanic's  wife."  This 
did  not  disturb  Salinda,  as  she  was  anxious  to 
commence  life  just  as  her  mother  had  done, 
and  see  if  she  could  not  help  her  husband  as 
her  mother  did  hers,  to  build  up  a  fortune,  by- 
industry  and  frugality. 

Mrs.  Savery  received  her  wnth  open  arms, 
and  promised  her,  "  that  before  a  year  was 
over,  she  would  be  just  as  able  to  take  charge 
of  her  house,  as  her  teacher;  and  not  only 
learn  the  art  of  living  well,  but  saving  all,  and 
actually  growing  rich  upon  what  in  most 
houses  is  wasted." 

"  In  the  first  place,  we  will  go  up  and  see- 
where  you  are  to  sleep.  You  know  our  house 
is  small,  and  we  have  to  economize  room,  but 
I  am  very  much  .opposed  to  small  bed-rooms, 
because  they  cannot  be  well  ventilated,  and 
that  is  of  the  utmost  importance  on  account 
of  health.  I  think  your  mother  told  me  that 


28  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

you  had  always  been  accustomed  to  sleep  on 
a  feather  bed.  It  will,  I  fear,  seem  hard  at 
first,  to  sleep  on  our  mattresses ;  but  I  never 
allow  feathers  in  the  house,  except  some  thin 
pillows  of  old  well-seasoned  feathers." 

"  Oh,  I  can  soon  accustom  myself  to  a  hard 
bed.  But  shall  I  not  sleep  with  Lillie?  it 
would  save  room.  I  am  anxious  to  make  as 
little  trouble  as  possible." 

"  Not  much ;  and  then  it  is  more  healthy, 
in  warm  weather,  to  sleep  separate.  This  is 
your  bed,  and  that  is  Lillie's.  Both  in  one 
room,  yet  this  thick  curtain  will  give  each  the 
privacy  of  separate  apartments." 

"  You  have  taken  too  much  trouble,  I  fear, 
on  my  account." 

"  No  trouble  is  too  much  when  health,  com- 
fort, neatness  and  respectability  are  concerned. 
This  curtain,  being  open  top  and  bottom,  will 
allow  a  free  circulation  of  air,  which  will  be 
much  better  than  a  close  partition,  and  as  we 
have  no  bath-room  in  the  house,  this  arrange-' 
ment  will  allow  you  both  to  enjoy  the  healthy 
luxury  of  a  sponge  bath  of  cold  water  in  the 
bathing  tub.  every  morning.  I  shall  expect, 


IN    A    SMALh    KOOM.  29 

too,  that  each  will  keep  her  own  apartment 
in  order ;  arid  there,  see  how  easy  it  is  to  draw 
aside  the  curtain,  and  now  for  the  use  of  both 
together,  you  have  a  large  pleasant  room." 

"  Oh,  I  am  sure  I  never  saw  anything  nicer. 
What  a  pretty  toilette  table  ;  but  I  do  not  see 
any  wash-stand." 

"  You  shall  see  that.  The  room  is  small, 
you  know,  and  as  I  expect  you  and  Lillie  to. 
use  it  as  a  sitting  room,  for  your  work  and 
reading,  when  you  wish  to  retire  from  the 
family  circle,  or  from  visitors,  I  prefer  to  have 
the  conveniences  for  washing  out  of  sight. 
Look  here." 

Mi's.  Savery  stepped  to  the  toilette  table  under 
the  glass,  and  drew  aside  the  snow  white  cur- 
tain, and  there  was  a  neat  little  painted  wash- 
stand,  with  its  white  bowl  and  pitcher  and 
soap  dish,  and  drawer,  and  all  the  little  conve- 
niences. Beneath  that  was  a  square  tin  tub, 
made  to  lit  so  as  to  economize  all  the  space ; 
the  whole  only  taking  up  the  room  of  the 
toilette  table.  The  stand  was  set  on  casters, 
and  could  be  rolled  Out  wherever  convenient. 

In  a  drawer  was  a  piece  of  India-rubber 


30  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

cloth,  that  could  be  spread  over  the  carpet 
during  the  bathing  operation.  On  the  table 
was  a  plain  square  oak  wood  box,  very  neatly 
made,  with  a  lock,  in  which  all  the  toilet  arti- 
cles could  be  kept. 

Salinda  was  looking  at  everything  in  silence, 
and  Mrs.  Savery  began  to  wonder  if  she  was 
contrasting  it  with  the  rosewood  work  of  her 
room  at  the  hotel.  She  was.  And  her  opinion 
burst  involuntarily  from  her  lips. 

"  How  much  more  sensible — how  neat — how 
convenient — how  good — and  yet  " 

Mrs.  Savery  furnished  her  the  word — "eco- 
nomical." 

"  Yes,  and  yet  how  much  more  economical. 
I  suppose  this  did  not  cost  half  the  money  ?" 

"I  cannot  answer  that.  It  only  cost  us  a 
little  time — odd  time — wasted  hours  with  jnost 
mechanics.  Mr.  Savery  is  a  carpenter,  and 
almost  everything  in  the  house  is  the  work  of 
his  own  hands,  or  some  of  his  workmen,  when 
business  was  slack,  or  between  jobs,  or  in  some 
spare  hour.  That  box  is  the  work  of  a  poor 
lame  boy,  whom  Mr.  Savery  used  to  allow  to 
come  into  the  shop  and  make  little  articles 


THE   OAKEN   BOX.  31 

which  he  sold  in  the  street  to  help  his  mother, 
until — well,  well,  no  matter." 

"  Oh  yes,  pray  tell  me,  until  what  ?" 

In  the  mean  time  Salinda  was  examining 
the  box,  finding  it  was  really  a  very  excellent 
piece  of  workmanship,  and  "much  like  one  of 
her  mothers." 

"  Until  one  day  nay  husband  was  passing 
through  another  street,  he  met  a  lady  just 
coming  out  of  a  little  wood-worker's  shop, 
with  that  box  in  her  hand.  She  knew  Mr. 
Savery  very  well,  and  exclaimed  as  she  saw 
him: 

"  Oh  dear,  I  am  caught  in  the  very  act.  I 
was  just  going  to  carry  this  box  to  you  as  a 
present — a  little  token  of  remembrance  from 
a  poor  boy,  who  through  your  kindness  is 
making  a  good  liviuo-  for  himself  and  his  old 

O  O  O 

mother/' 

"  Mr.  Savery  was  surprised ;  he  did  not 
know  what  it  meant;  but  she  took  him  by 
the  arm,  and  led  him  into  the  shop,  and  there 
was  the  poor  lame  boy,  with  just  as  much  as 
he  could  do :  and  he  had  employed  two  other 
lame  boys  to  help  him.  Overhead,  in  com- 


32  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

fortable  apartments,  lived  the  old  lady,  not 
only  well  provided  for  now,  but  her  son  was 
in  a  much  fairer  way  than  some  whole  young 
men  of  gaining  wealth,  and  a  respectable  posi- 
tion in  society. 

"  I  am  indebted  to  you,  first,  and  this  good 
lady  second,  for  all  this;"  said  he,  as  he  hopped 
forward  on  his  crutches  to  meet  my  husband. 
"  You  gave  me  the  chance  to  learn  to  work, 
and  she  gave  me  the  means." 

"Oh,  what  a  dear,  good  woman — how  I 
should  like  to  know  her." 

"  You  do — it  was  your  mother." 

"  Oh,  Heaven  bless  her.  How  much  cause 
I  have  to  love  my  mother.  That  box  will  be 
almost  an  idol  in  my  eyes.  It  will  be  a 
prompter  every  morning  and  evening,  to  teach 
me  to  pray  for  that  mother,  and  the  spread  of 
such  a  spirit  as  animates  her  heart,  throughout 
the  world." 

A  tear  started  to  Mrs.  Savery's  eye — it  was 
a  tear  of  gladness,  to  think  what  a  train  of 
happy  circumstances  had  grown  out  of  so  tri- 
fling an  act  of  kindness  as  that  of  her  husband, 
in  permitting  the  poor  boy  to  exercise  his 


TRUNKS    AND   BANDBOXES.  33 

natural  skill  as  a  wood-worker  in  his  shop, 
instead  of  abruptly  driving  him  away  "  about 
his  own  business." 

Mr.  Savery  was  made  quite  happy  in  the 
evening,  when  his  wife  related  what  a  pleasing 
influence  the  reminiscence  had  had  upon  the 
mind  of  their  young  friend. 

About  the  time  Mrs.  Savery  had  got  through 
showing  Salinda  all  the  rooms  in  the  house, 
and  that  everything  had  its  place,  the  porter 
from  the  hotel  arrived  with  her  trunks  and 
bandboxes,  and  all  the  trappings  that  a  modern 
lady  contrives  to  carry  with  her  on  a  journey, 
in  defiance  of  all  the  rules  of  economy  of  dress, 
money,  or  time. 

"  Oh  dear,  where  shall  I  put  them  all,"  she 
thought  as  she  looked  out  upon  the  great  bar- 
row load ;  "  I  am  sure  I  wish  half  of  them 
were  back  again,  and  back  I  will  send  them, 
that  is  positive.  I  told  mother  I  should  not 
want  them."  Unconsciously,  she  thought 
aloud,  and  Mrs.  Savery  replied. 

"  Oh  no,  do  not  send  them  back,  it  would 
only  serve  to  make  your  mother  think  you  do 
not  intend  to  remain  long.  No  doubt  she 

i* 


34  ECONOMY   ILLUSTKATED. 

thought  you  would  be  more  contented,  if  you 
had  everything  here.  Besides,  it  will  serve  to 
teach  you  your  first  lesson  in  economy — econo- 
my of  space — the  art  of  making  a  small  house 
and  contracted  rooms  serve  the  purpose  of 
larger  ones.  We  are  all  too  extravagant  in 
house  room,  when  it  is  so  expensive  as  it  is  ill 
cities." 

"  1  thought  people  generally  in  large  towns 
lived  in  too  contracted  space." 

"  Perhaps  the  poor  do,  but  the  fault  is  more 
in  want  of  ventilation,  than  in  the  narrowness 
of  the  apartments.  The  worst  economy  in  the 
world,  is  the  neglect  to  provide  ourselves  with 
fresh  air.  In  a  small  room,  filled  with  human 
beings,  the  whole  atmosphere  becomes  actually 
poisonous,  and  destructive  of  health,  and  even 
life,  for  lack  of  ventilation.  The  amount  of 
suffering  in  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta,  is  a 
lasting  memento  of  this  fact.  A  great  many 
city  houses  are  built  with  bedrooms  in  the 
centre,  without  any  means  of  ventilation, 
except  through  an  open  door  into  a  close 
room,  where  all  the  cooking,  eating,  and 
breathing  of  a  large  family  are  in  constant 


ECONOMY    Of    VENTILATION.  85 

operation.  lu  such  rooms,  human  beings  are 
expected  to  sleep  and  live.  There  is  a  great 
want  of  economy  of  life  and  health,  in  such 
buildings;  but  we  have  no  i  Board  of  Health,' 
to  look  after  such  '  seeds  of  contagion.' ' 

"  But  Frank,  you  say,  sleeps  in  that  room." 
"  True.  But  look  here.  There  is  a  Yene- 
tian  blind  window  opening  upon  the  passage, 
and  here  comes  a  pipe  that  brings  fresh  air 
from  the  outside  of  the  house.  In  winter,  it 
passes  through  the  chimney,  and  gets  warm. 
That  opening  in  the  ceiling  is  another  pipe, 
that  leads  also  into  the  chimney,  high  up, 
which  gives  it  a  draft,  so  that  the  air  in  this 
room  is  always  pure.  N"ow  this  ventilation 
costs  but  a  trifle,  but  it  saves  many  dollars, 
cost  of  medicine,  and,  perhaps,  precious  lives. 
It  is  true  economy." 

"  And  the  other  rooms,  are  they  ventilated  ?" 
"  Every  one  of  them  in  the  same  way." 
"I  have  not  seen  any  sign  of  the  openings 
in  any  other  room.     How  is  it  done?" 

"  You  observed  that  work  stand  in  your 
room,  and  spoke  of  the  convenience  of  the 
foot-board.  The  air  grate  is  underneath  that.'* 


30  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

"  Another  economy  of  space.  And  is  that 
hot  or  cold  ?"  f 

"  Both.  Now  notice  the  paper  border  of 
the  room.  Look  up  and  all  around,  and  see 
if  you  can  tell  which  of  those  little  black 
stripes  are  openings  into  the  ventilator?" 

"By  looking  close,  I  see  there  are  some  iti 
each  corner  of  the  room.  They  are  admirably 
contrived,  and  I  should  think  the  air  could 
never  get  very  bad." 

"  No,  not  if  there  were  twenty  persons 
sleeping  here." 

"  But  your  house  is  not  fully  warmed  by 
hot  air,  is  it  ?" 

"  No ;  because  we  have  no  furnace.  We 
only  economize  the  heat  of  the  kitchen  fire. 
When  Mr.  Savery  built  the  house,  lie  inserted 
a  hollow  cast-iron  chest  in  the  back  of  the 
chimney,  where  it  would  always  take  up  the 
waste  heat  that  usually  escapes  up  the  flue,  till 
it  is  often  hot  fifty  feet  from  the  fire.  Into 
the  bottom  of  this  chest,  a  pipe  opens  from 
out  doors,  and  another  from  the  top,  leads  the 
heated  air  to  every  room  in  the  house.  In  the 
summer  time  the  hot  air  is  shut  off,  and  ano- 


WARMING   THE    HOUSE.  3*7 

ther  opening  brings  the  air  fresh  and  sweet 
from  the  flower  garden." 

"  I  notice  anew  form  of  stove  in  the  sitting 
room." 

"  No,  the  stove  is  the  old  form  of  air-tight 
wood  stoves — great  economizers  of  fuel — and 
that  is   a  new   attachment,  called  Tillman's 
Radiator.     You  see  it  is  a  hollow  drum  set  up 
endwise,  j  ust  behind  the  stove,  through  which 
the  smoke  pipe  passes  several  times  up  and 
down.     At  that  end  next  the  floor,  the  cold 
.  air,  which  always  falls  by  its  specific  gravity 
to  the  bottom  of  the  warm  room,   comes  in 
among  the  hot  pipes,  and  there  absorbs  nearly 
all  the  heat,  which  tlms  escapes  from  the  top 
into  the  room,  and  thus  by  preventing  the  heat 
from  escaping  up  the  chimney,  saves  nearly  one 
half  the  cost  of  producing  it.     I  am  told  that 
where  these  radiators  have  been  attached  to  a 
large  and  expensive  coal  stove  in  a  public 
room,  that  it   enabled    the   occupants   to  sit 
quite  back,  with  more  comfort  than  they  used 
to  find  in  close  proximity  with  the  stove." 
"  And  not  burn  any  more  fuel  ?" 
"  Not  half  as  much.     Instead  of  radiator 


38  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

it  should  be  called  the  economizer  of  heat  and 
creator  of  comfort." 

"  My  mother  says  that  comfort,  health,  and 
religion,  are  very  closely  connected." 

"Your  mother  is  right,  I  don't  believe 
pure  religion  can  dwell  with  squalid  poverty 
and  discomfort.  The  poor,  miserable  irreli- 
gious portion  of  mankind  must  be  clothed, 
and  fed,  and  better  housed  and  cared  for, 
before  they  can  enjoy  the  holy  influence  of 
religion.  It  is  a  sad  waste  of  time  and 
money,  to  endeavor  to  civilize  and  Christianize 
such  people  by  an  /occasional  sermon.  Dirt 
and  wretchedness  work  no  good  influences 
upon  the  human  mind.  But  dear  me,  how  we 
have  run  off  from  the  subject.  I  was  going  to 
show  you  how  to  dispose  of  the  contents  of 
your  trunks,  even  in  your  small  room." 

"  That  trunk  is  full  of  books.  I  need  not 
unpack  them." 

"  Of  all  things  else,  your  books  should  be  in 
sight,  where  at  any  moment  you  can  lay  your 
hand  upon  the  one  of  your  choice.  Books 
are  great  economizers  of  little  waste  bits  of 
time.  They  gather  them  all  up  into  a  garner 


THE    BOOK    rJHKLVKS.  39 

that  will  last  for  ever.  Besides  I  shall  be  glad 
to  have  Lillie  profit  by  your  store  ;  in  it  she 
will  find  something  new  and  useful." 

"  Indeed  she  will.  I  have  got  some  choice 
books,  and  she  and  Frank  shall  be  most 
welcome.  But  where  can  I  put  them  ?" 

"  I  have  thought  of  that.  Your  mother 
told  me  that  you  had  a  good  many,  and  asked 
us  if  you  should  bring  them  all.  We  said  all. 
Mr.  Savery  said  he  would  provide  for  them. 
Now  see  here." 

She  went  out  and  brought  in  a  set  of 
hanging  book  shelves.  The  lower  one  was 
about  three  feet  long,  and  the  upper  one  half 
that  length,  so  that  when  the  cord  was  hung 
up  on  the  strong  iron  hook  in  the  wall  and 
the  shelves  filled,  it  formed  a  pyramidal  pile 
of  books,  literally  "four  stories"  high  and 
very  neat  and  pretty. 

Salinda  was  delighted.  It  was  plenty  large 
enough  for  all  her  books,  and  as  she  remarked 
when  it  was  finished,  as  it  hung  over  the  work 
table,  it  took  up  no  room. 

';  There  now,  only  think  of  the  economy  of 
that.  Mr.  Saver v  made  it  entirely  in  an  hour 


40  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

last  evening.     For  your  present  purpose,  it  is 
just  as  good  as  though  it  cost  forty  dollars." 

"  It  is  indeed.  How  fast  I  am  learning  my 
new  lessons.  I  will  buy  a  yard  of  gauze  and 
make  a  curtain  to  keep  off  the  flies,  still 
leaving  all  the  books  in  sight,  to  tempt  me,  as 
you  say,  to  fill  up  all  my  odd  moments.  I 
wish  I  knew  how  to  hang  up  my  dresses  as 
well ;  but  I  don't  see  any  room  upon  the  wall 
for  half  I  have.  I  suppose  I  have  got  twice 
too  many,  but  it  was  not  my  fault  altogether. 
The  bureau  will  hold  all  my  small  things,  and 
this  cupboard  the  remainder ;  but  don't  you 
think  dresses  are  better  hung  up  ?" 

"  Certainly,  and  I  have  provided  for  that,  too, 
without  taking  up  any  room.  This  curtain 
you  will  never  want  to  draw  back  any  further 
than  the  foot  of  the  bed;  there,  see,  it  draws 
back  so  far  and  stops,  leaving  it  hanging 
between  your  beds.  Now  look  again,  from 
the  iron  rod  that  holds  the  curtains,  I  have 
suspended  these  little  brass  hooks  by  these 
cords,  upon  which,  if  you  like,  you  can  hang 
twenty  dresses,  and  Lillie  will  hang  here  on 
the  other  side.  Then  we  will  pin  a  light 


»      MAKING    MOST    OF    LITTLE    BOOM.  41 

calico  curtain  over  the  whole,  and  they  will 
be  just  as  well  protected  from  dust  as  though 
in  your  wardrobe  that  cost  a  hundred  dollars." 

"  I  declare,  Mrs.  Savery,  I  never  saw  your 
equal  for  making  a  small  house  answer  all  the 
purposes  of  a  large  one.  Oh,  if  Charley 
Goodman  knew  how  much  I  have  already 
learned,  he  would  think  my  year  of  schooling 
well  paid  for,  if  I  learned  nothing  more.  I 
have  got  new  ideas  —  new  hopes  —  brighter 
prospects.  If  I  go  on  in  the  same  way 
gathering  really  useful  information,  I  shall 
make  him  a  wife,  such  as  he  never  dreamed 
of.  I  must  commence  hanging  up  my  dresses 
at  once,  and  to-morrow  I  will  get  some  stuff 
and  make  a  curtain  for  both  sides — for  Lillie 
and  myself.  She  has  not  hung  hers  yet." 

"  No ;  this  is  a  new  arrangement,  made  to 
suit  the  necessity  of  the  occasion.  When  your 
parents  applied  to  us,  your  father  did  not  see 
how  it  would  be  possible  for  us  to  accommo- 
date you  without  discommoding  ourselves. 
My  husband  told  him  that  was  one  of  the 
lessons  he  was  most  anxious  to  teach  a  rich 
man's  family,  how  to  be  comfortable,  and  have 


ECONOMY 

all  the  necessary  conveniences  of  life  in  a 
small  house,  and  thus  save  a  great  deal  of  ex- 
pensive rents.  He  says  we  are  living  in  an 
extravagant  period,  and  that  economy  is  almost 
lost  sight  of,  and  hence  so  many  disastrous 
failures. 

There  now,  don't  your  dresses  hang  nice. 
Do  you  begin  to  see  that  you  have  plenty  of 
room,  for  all  your  things,  and  nothing  seems 
crowded.  That  book-case  is  really  orna- 
mental. Lillie  will  be  surprised  and  delighted 
when  she  comes  from  school." 

"I  hope  she  will  be  as  well  pleased  with  her 
room-mate,  as  with  her  books  and  other 
things." 

"  That  depends  upon  the  disposition  of  both 
of  you.  I  have  no  fears  upon  that  point.  1 
think  the  benefit  may  be  mutual,  of  your  asso- 
ciating together.  There  are  many  things  that 
you  have  learned  at  school,  and  in  your  inter- 
course with  polished  society,  that  you  can  ex- 
change with  Lillie  for  what  she  has  learned  of 
the  more  practical  affaire  of  life.  Do  you 
think  you  will  be  able  to  arrange  all  your 
things  satisfactorily  ?" 


ECONOMY   IN   FURNITURE.  43 

"  I  can  see  a  place  for  everything  but  my 
writing  desk.  I  think  I  shall  have  to  buy  a 
little  table  to  stand  there  by  the  window,  just 
to  hold  that,  as  it  will  take  up  too  much  room 
on  the  work-table." 

"  That  is  all  provided  for.  Your  mother 
spoke  about  that,  and  when  Mr.  Savery  comes 
home  this  evening,  he  will  bring  a  broad  shelf 
and  screw  it  upon  the  window  sill,  which  will 
hold  your  desk  just  as  well  as  a  table  that 
would  cost  two  or  three  dollars,  while  the 
shelf  will  only  cost  as  many  cents." 

"And  will  be  just  as  good.  How  easily 
you  do  teach  me  economy.". 

"That  should  be  taught  and  practised  in 
everything.  One  of  these  days  I  will  tell  you 
a  pleasant  story  about  a  family  of  my  acquain- 
tance that  commenced  life  in  a  log  cabin,  and 
how  they  got  along  very  happily  upon  such  a 
small  beginning,  as  would  frighten  some  of  our 
city  people." 

"There  now,  with  your  assistance  and  ad- 
vice, I  am  getting  all  my  things  disposed  of  so 
nicely.  Now  I  wish  that  empty  trunk  was 


44  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED, 

at  home  again ;  it  will  only  be  in  the  way 
here." 

"  Far  from  it.  Did  I  not  see  in  your  room 
at  the  hotel,  a  lounge  about  the  size  of  that 
trunk.  Your  mother  took  her  seat  upon  it, 
when  you  asked  her  to  take  the  rocking-chair, 
saying  that  she  preferred  the  lounge.  Would 
you  like  to  have  such  a  one  here  for  her  to  sit 
upon,  if  she  likes  it,  when  she  calls  to  visit 
you?" 

"  Certainly ;  but  not  so  expensive.  I  sup- 
pose that  cost  thirty  or  forty  dollars." 

"And  you  can  have  just  as  good  a  one  for 
one-tenth  of  that  sum,  and  find  a  place  for 
your  trunk,  where  it  won't  be  in  your  way." 

"  Oh,  do  tell  me  how.  You  are  so  full  of 
contriving,  and  money  and  labor  saving,  that 
it  does  seem  as  though  you  could  not  take  a 
step  without  learning  me  something.  Do  you 
mean  to  buy  such  a  lounge  as  that  in  Lillie's 
room.  I  should  be  perfectly  satislted  with 
that ;  it  is  neat  and  good,  but  still  I  don't  ex- 
actly understand  what  that  has  to  do  about 
disposing  of  my  trunk." 


THE   MAGIC   CHAIR.  45 

"  We  will  exercise  a  little  of  the  magic  art 
of  house-keeping,  and  with  a  wave  of  our 
wand,  transform  the  trunk  into  a  useful,  orna- 
mental piece  of  furniture.  Look  here." 

She  walked  over  to  where  the  lounge  was 
standing  and  lifted  the  cushion  on  to  a  chair, 
and  reached  down  under  a  little  border  ap- 
pended around  the  upper  edge  for  orna- 
ment. 

There  was  a  little  click  like  turning  a  key  in 
a  lock,  and  presto,  change,  the  pretty  lounge 
was  transformed  into  an  open  trunk.  Salinda 
uttered  an  expression  of  astonishment,  and 
declared  she  should  not  be  surprised  to  see  the 
table  turn  into  a  big  arm-chair. 

"  You  need  not ;  but  I  thought  you  already 
understood  that  secret.  Come  with  me  into 
our  room." 

There  was  a  neat  little  round  table  standing 
in  the  centre  of  the  room.  At  a  touch  it 
opened — one  half  wheeled  round,  and  there 
sat  Mrs.  Savery  in  the  other  half,  a  very  com- 
fortable arm  chair,  with  her  writing  table 
before  her,  with  all  its  conveniences. 

"  You  see  how  easy  it  is  to  transform  furni- 


46  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

ture,  and  make  articles  serve  a  double  purpose. 
This  is  an  excellent  contrivance  for  small 
rooms  like  ours.  Mr.  Savery  saw  one  of  these 
exhibited  at  some  fair,  and  the  patentee  gave 
him  permission  to  build  one  for  himself.  But 
let  me  show  you  about  the  trunk.  You  will 
want  about  four  yards  of  this  sort  of  furniture 
covering ;  it  will  cost  37^  cents  a  yard ;  and 
you  will  want  as  many  yards  of  stout  muslin, 
to  make  the  cushions.  One  is  made  fast  to  the 
trunk  and  covered,  and  the  other  in  shape  of  a 
large  pillow  to  sit  up  against  the  wall,  or  lay 
down  to  rest  upon  thus.  The  lower  part  of  the 
trunk  is  just  covered  with  the  cloth  slightly 
stuifed  to  prevent  the  heads  of  the  trunk  nails 
from  being  seen,  or  felt.  If  at  any  time  the 
trunk  is  wanted,  for  travelling,  the  whole  can 
be  taken  off  in  five  minutes..  You  shall  cover 
yours  with  stuff  to  match  Lillie's,  and  then  if 
you  should  wish  you  can  set  the  two  together, 
and  form  a  very  comfortable  place  to  lodge,  or 
in  case  of  slight  indisposition  to  lounge  near 
the  window  and  work,  or  read,  or  sleep. 

"I  am  surprised  Mrs.  Savery  at  your  fertility 
of  invention.     But  you  have  underrated  the 


MATTRKStJ    MAKING.  47 

cost.  You  forgot  the  expense  of  the  hair  for 
cushions." 

"  No,  I  did  not ;  but  you  are  deceived,  it  is 
not  hair ;  although  it  looks  and  feels  so  much 
like  it.  It  is  moss — generally  called  Spanish 
moss.  It  grows  in  long  festoons  upon  all  the 
trees  of  extensive  forests  in  Mississippi,  Louisi- 
ana, and  other  Southern  States.  If  well  pre- 
pared it  is  better  than  poor  hair.  There  is 
another  cheap  article  for  cushions  and  mat- 
tresses lately  introduced  called  German  grass. 
It  is  a  product  of  the  sea." 

"  Pray  tell  me  if  your  nice  mattresses  are  all 
made  of  moss?" 

"  All  but  one,  and  that  is  the  poorest  in  the 
house.  We  bought  that  as  it  is." 

"Bought  that  as  it  is?  Did  you  not  buy 
them  all  as  they  are  ?" 

"  Oh  no,  we  made  them  ourselves.  They 
are  better  and  cheaper  than  we  could  buy 
them.  It  is  a  very  easy  job  to  make  a  mat- 
tress." 

"  Did  you  ever  use  cotton  for  mattresses  ?" 

"  No ;  I  was  inclined  to  do  so,  but  Mr. 
Savery  soon  convinced  me  that  it  is  not  a  good 


4:8  ECONOMY     ILLUSTKA.TEI). 

material.  It  is  so  much  of  a  non-conductor, 
that  it  grows  hot  under  the  body,  and  some- 
times gets  damp  and  musty,  and  of  course 
unhealthy.  Cotton  packs  together  too  closely. 
It  is  not  as  good  either,  for  covering,  as  gene- 
rally used  in  thick  comforters,  as  blankets. 
Cotton  batting  after  a  little  use  gets  so  matted 
that  it  is  almost  as  impervious  to  air,  as  an 
India  rubber  coat." 

"What  are  your  lower  mattresses  made  of  2" 

"Some  are  corn  husks,  some  straw,  some 
German  grass,  and  we  have  one  made  of  beech 
leaves.  I  like  that  best  of  all.  The  material 
is  very  cheap,  sweet,  clean,  and  durable,  and 
sufficiently  elastic.  Anything  is  better  than 
feathers,  to  sleep  upon." 

"  I  don't  know  how  you  find  time  to  make 
everything." 

"  Time  is  provided  by  the  good  giver  of  all 
gifts,  for  us  all  to  use  for  our  benefit,  and  if 
we  only  improve  it  as  we  should,  we  never 
shall  know  what  it  is  to  want  time  to  do 
everything  necessary  for  our  comfort.  I 
endeavor  to  economize  time,  as  well  as  every- 
thing else,  and  teach  my  children  to  do  the 


THE    KAG    CA.RPET.  49 

same.  I  never  task  them,  so  that  their  time 
drags  heavy,  and  thus  they  make  work  -a 
recreation.  If  you  should  ask  Lillie,  and 
Frank,  and  Susan,  when  they  found  time  to 
make  this  carpet,  they  could  hardly  tell  you." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  this  is  home  made 
too?" 

"  Not  altogether.  Yet  it  is  all  the  product 
of  home  labor.  The  girls  prepared  the  rags, 
and  the  weaver  found  the  warp,  and  gave  us 
half  the  piece.'' 

"Where  did  you  get  the  materials  ?" 

<l  By  never  wasting  a  rag.  Every  family 
could  save  old  clothes  enough  in  a  few  years, 
to  make  a  rag  carpet.  I  must  acknowledge, 
however,  in  this  case,  that  we  got  a  great  part 
of  our  stock  from  a  friend.  Mrs.  Doolittle 
saw  us  at  work  one  day  and  oifered  to  give 
me  a  barrel  full  of  old  clothes,  'just  fit  for 
carpet  rags.'  She  said  she  was  sure  she 
should  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  them,  though 
it  grieved  me  to  see  such  waste.  There  were 
coats  that  could  not  have  cost  less  than  $30 
each,  and  pants,  and  boys'  clothes,  and  one 
line  cape  that  had  been  worn  by  the  girls, 
3 


ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED, 

with  a  great  spot  of  paint  on  it ;  and  the 
whole  so  eaten  by  moths  as  to  spoil  them  for 
anything  but  carpet  rags.  And  then  to  think 
that  every  moth  could  have  been  kept  away 
with  a  sixpence  worth  of  camphor  gum.  And 
that  spot  of  paint,  if  treated  when  fresh,  with 
a  little  camphene,  which  is  always  the  most 
convenient  of  anything  where  it  is  used,  or 
with  alcohol,  or  spirits  of  turpentine,  could 
have  been  washed  out  with  five  minutes' 
labor." 

"  Probably  it  was  thrown  down  in  a  pet, 
when  the  accident  happened,  and  never  look- 
ed at  again." 

"  Yes,  that  is  it,  and  so  left  for  the  moths  to 
destroy,  and  finally  given  away  for  carpet 
rags,  because  the  family  never  have  any  time 
for  such  work  themselves." 

"  What  do  they  do  ?" 

"You  shall  go  and  see  one  of  these  days  't 
or  I  will  tell  you,  and  you  can  afterwards  see 
if  I  am  correct.  Mr.  Doolittle  was  a  country 
blacksmith,  living  on  a  little  farm  all  his  own, 
surrounded  with  country  comforts.  On  the 
plea  of  educating  the  two  girlsr  hfs  wife  per- 


YOUNG  LADIES'  OCCUPATION.  51 

suaded  him  to  move  into  town,  and  extend 
his  business.  He  has  been  very  successful, 
and  has  need  to  be,  but  he  works  like  a  slave, 
and  his  wife  and  the  '  young  ladies,'  are 
ashamed  to  have  him  come  to  the  table  when 
they  have  company,  because  he  looks  so  ;  he 
is  not  dressed  as  they  are,  who  never  lift  a  fin- 
ger for  any  useful  labor.  Mrs.  Doolittle 
keeps  a  cook  and  two  chambermaids,  and 
hires  a  woman  to  do  her  k  fine  washing.'  She 
is  for  ever  in  the  street,  or  making  calls,  and 
three  nights  in  the  week  at  the  theatre  or 
some  concert.  The  girls  work  green  lions, 
and  blue  parrots,  in  red  landscapes,  in  worsted 
work  for  chair  bottoms  that  are  never  used  ; 
and  paint  odd-looking  animals,  among  odder- 
looking  folks  who  are  supposed  to  live  in 
remarkable  houses,  which  the  mother  calls 
everybody  to  look  at,  as  '  my  daughter's  first 
effort.'  It  is  an  effort  to  look  at  it  without 
laughing  at  folly,  or  crying  at  such  a  waste  of 
time." 

"  I  declare  I  shall  be  careful  never  to 
expose  any  of  my  fancy  work  to  such  a  bitter 
critic." 


52  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

"Bitter!  Is  truth  bitter?  It  is  only  so  to 
those  who  feel  guilty  of  such  a  waste  of  time. 
But  it  is  not  worse  wasted  than  in  their  read- 
ing." 

"  Why  Mrs.  Savery,  don't  you  approve  of 
reading  works  of  fiction — novels— or  works  not 
strictly  confined  to  actual  incidents  of  life  ?" 

"  Certainly  I  do,  such  Looks  as  these  ;  but 
for  girls  like  Mrs.  Doolittle's  daughters  to 
read  all  night  long  such  books  as  those 
written  by  Paul  De  Kock,  or  George  Sand, 
or  even  the  ghostly  stories  of  Harrison  Ains- 
worth,  The  Mysteries  of  Udolph^  T  similar 
things — destructive  as  such  TV  .rig  is  to  the 
body,  it  is  still  more  so  +  ,ne  mind,  and  no 
girl  can  maintain  her  purity  in  such  a  hot-bed 
of  moral  disease.  If  nothing  worse  happens, 
it  is  more  than  likely,  that  the  mind  will  be 
so  corrupted  by  lascivious  books  perused  in 
solitude  that  health,  happiness,  and  life  will 
be  sacrificed  upon  this  burning  altar  of 
Moloch." 

"  You  make  me  fairly  tremble  at  the  conse- 
quences of  such  reading.  But  I  am  glad  that 
you  do  not  deprecate' all  works  of  fiction." 


NOVEL    READLSra.  53 


"  By  no  means.  The  most  attractive  form 
in  which  history  can  be  taught  is  in  romance. 
Even  religion  and  morals  may  be  dressed  in 
a  garb  purely  fictitious,  and  made  to  serve  a 
holy  purpose.  The  very  worst  and  most  dan- 
gerous immoralities  of  our  social  system,  may 
be  so  treated  in  works  of  a  fictitious  character, 
that  the  reader  will  learn  to  avoid  the  danger. 
Look  at  the  temperance  tales  of  T.  S. 
Arthur,  and  many  others  :  how  much  good 
they  have  done.  But  reading,  like  eating,  or 
drinking,  or  sleeping,  or  labor,  should  never 
be  carried  to  an  excess.  ISTo  young  mind  can 
properly  digest  a  whole  volume  upon  any 
subject,  at  one  hasty  perusal.  No  one  should 
read  more  than  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time.  You 
might  as  well  try  to  eat  enough  at  once  to  last 
a  week,  or  do  a  month  sleeping  all  in  one  nap. 
Habitual  novel  readers  get  their  minds  so  cor- 
rupted; the  senses  so  dulled  by  continual  over- 
doses, that  they  are  only  content  to  glance 
through  a  novel  so  as  to  get  at  the  main  inci- 
dents of  the  story,  and  the  more  extravagant 
and  exciting  those  are,  the  better  they  are 


54  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

pleased  with  the  book,  which  has  no  value  in 
their  eyes,  after  having  been  thus  superficially 
read." 

"  I  wish  you  would  give  me  a  catalogue  of 
such  books  as  you  would  recommend  for  a 
small  family  library." 

"  There  come  the  children  from  school,  and 
Lillie  will  furnish  you  with  one  I  have  already 
prepared  for  her.  It  might  be  greatly  ex- 
tended, but  you  will  find  in  it  the  names  of 
some  admirable  volumes  that  will  never  grow 
old  and  useless." 

Lillie  and  Frank  canie  bounding  up  stairs 
full  of  natural  curiosity  to  see  the  new  comer 
and  all  her  things.  They  first  gave  a  respect- 
ful greeting  to  their  mother,  as  they  always 
did  after  a  day's  absence,  and  at  night  they 
never  parted  from  her  or  each  other  without 
a  kiss,  and  never  met  in  the  morning  without 
a  pleasant  recognition,  sometimes  expressed  in 
their  native  tongue,  and  sometimes  in  French, 
which  they  were  studying.  From  her  mother, 
Lillie  turned  to  Salinda  and  gave  her  hand, 
saying : 


THE   YOUNG   FOLKS'    GBEETING.  55 

"Miss  Lovewell,  I  am  sincerely  delighted 
to  see  you  in  our  house,  and  in  this  room, 
where  I  hope  we  shall  spend  some  pleasant 
and  profitable  hours  together.  I  am  glad  to 
see  how  soon  you  are  getting  your  things 
arranged  as  though  you  intend  to  be  at  home." 

And  this,  thought  Salinda,  comes  from  a 
girl — a  mere  common  school  girl,  only  fifteen 
years  old,  whose  manners  are  superior  to  half 
the  boarding-school  young  ladies  in  the  coun- 
try. Oh,  I  shall  love  her,  I  know  I  shall. 
She  felt  as  though  she  could  clasp  her  to  her 
heart,  her  words,  her  tone,  and  manner  were 
all  so  kind. 

"  Indeed  Lillie,  I  feel  at  home.  Your 
mother  has  been  so  kind,  and  showed  and 
helped  me  so  much  it  is  no  wonder  that  I  have 
got  along  so  well.  Indeed  I  shall  be  happy 
here,  and  as  to  the  profit  of  the  association,  I 
fear  I  sliall  derive  the  whole  of  that.  I  must 
stipulate  for  one  thing  in  the  very  outset,  how- 
ever. You  must  not  call  me  Miss  Lovewell. 
It  is  too  formal.  It  will  be  more  familiar — 
more  sisterly  to  call  me  Salinda.  And  Frank, 
brother  Frank,  you  must  call  me  so  too." 


5C  ECONOMY    ILLUsTKATEL). 

In  her  gushing  affection  she  caught  Frank 
in  her  arms  and  kissed  him  heartily. 

If  anything  was  lacking  to  tighten  the  cords 
of  affection  between  her  and  the  whole  family, 
this  little  act  completed  it. 

"  May  I  call  her  sister,"  said  Frank,  looking 
up  for  approval  of  his  mother,  whose  look,  nod, 
or  word  was  law  with  him,  that  he  never  ap- 
pealed from. 

"  With  all  my  heart,  if  she  is  Avilling,  and 
you  always  act  like  a  brother.  It  is  the  way 
all  should  live,  who  dwell  under  the  same 
roof  together." 

"  And  I  never  will  offend  you  again  by  the 
formal  appellation  of  Miss  Lovewell,  while 
you  call  my  brother  yours  also.  But  oh, 
what  a  sight  of  things,  and  what  a  pretty  case 
of  books.  May  I  look  at  them  ?" 

"  Certainly,  just  as  though  they  were  your 
own — and  Frank  too." 

"  But  remember,  children,  to  use  them  as 
though  they  were  another's,  and  always  return 
them  to  their  places.  It  is  an'  act  of  fashion- 
able wickedness,  to  borrow  and  keep  books, 
and  it  is  equally  bad  to  misuse  them."  V 


EVENING   KEADING.  57 

"  Oh  mother,  here  is  "  Father  Brighthopes,' 
that  cousin  Josephine  wrote  to  us  about,  whose 
character  reminded  her  so  much  of  uncle 
Ephraim.  We  must  have  it  for  some  of  our 
evening  readings.  The  old  man's  cheerful 
disposition  cures  a  whole  family  of  the  disease 
of  ill  temper,  and  creates  happiness  in  every 
circle  he  enters.  And  here  is  another  work 
by  the  same  author,  called  'Iron  Thorpe,' 
another  good  preacher  of  peace  on  earth  and 
good  will  to  men.  We  will  read  that  too. 
Are  you  fond  of  reading  loud,  Salinda, 
because  we  all  take  turns  at  our  evening  read- 
ings?'" 

"I  have  never  practised  any,  but  will  do 
my  best.  It  belongs,  I  presume,  to  your  gene- 
ral system  of  economy.  All  can  work,  or  rest, 
and  listen  to  the  reader,  and  all  be  equally 
interested." 

"That  is  not  all,"  said  Mrs.  Savery,  "it 
elicits  conversation  upon  the  topic  treated  of, 
and  brings  out  explanation  to  children,  of 
obscure  passages.  It  is  far  better  than  any 
evening  schools.  It  teaches  old  and  young." 

"  And  here  is  another  valuable  work.     It  is 


58  ECONOMY    ILLUSTBATED. 

Lossing's  Pictorial  History  of  the  United  States. 
Have  you  read  it  Salinda  ?" 

"  No,  but  I  will,  since  you  commend  it  so 
highly." 

"  Oh,  I  have  learned  more  of  our  history  by 
just  looking  over  the  pictures  and  reading  here 
and  there  a  sentence,  than  I  could  in  six 
months'  study  of  our  old  school  history. 

Why  here  is  the  Charter  Oak,  and  here  is 
Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  old  Dutch  Governor  of 
New  York,  who  planted  the  pear  tree,  brother 
Frank,  that  you  read  about  the  other  day  in 
the  New  York  Tribune,  which  has  borne  fruit 
two  hundred  years.  And  here  is  a  block 
house ;  well,  I  never  knew  what  a  block  house 
was  before. 

"  Oh,  here  is  a  pretty  little  book  with  such 
a  queer  title — I  declare  we  must  read  this  to- 
night." 

"  What  is  it,  sister  Lillie  ?" 

"  Lucy's  Half-crown ;  how  she  earned  it  and 
how  she  spent  it.  With  some  hints  on  the  art 
of  making  people  happy  without  money. 
Dear  me,  if  it  will  do  that,  I  would  go  around 
and  read  it  to  ever  so  many  poor  people  that 


TO    BE    HEAD.  59 

I  know.  It  must  be  a  good  book  for  children. 
But  did  you  ever  read  the  Lu  Lu  books? 
They  were  written  on  purpose  for  children. 
Ah,  here  is  one  that  father  will  like.  It  is 
Physiology  and  Phrenology,  by  Mrs.  L.  N. 
Fowler.  But  the  title  page  says  it  is  designed 
for  children  and  youth.  Let  us  see  what  it 
says." 

"  Why,  Lillie,  are  you  going  through  the 
whole  book-case  ?  it  is  near  tea-time.  I  ex- 
pect your  father  every  minute." 

"  Oh  no,  mother,  but  let  me  read  one  sen- 
tence in  this  book. 

"  We  were  not  created  to  serve  and  please  ourselves 
alone,  while  we  are  surrounded  by  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances." 

"Love  of  approbation  is  one  of  the  strongest  motives  and 
incentives  to  all  our  actions." 

"  Don't  you  like  that,  mother?  I  do.  I  think 
that  will  be  an  interesting  book.  Have  you 
read  it,  Salinda  ?" 

"  Not  yet.     It  is  one  I  lately  bought." 
"  Oh,  here  is  one  that  we  must  study  well. 
Mother,  vou  told  me  about  it  ;    and  that  I 


60  ECONOMY1    ILLUSTRATED. 

must  read  it  as  soon  as  I  got  old  enough,  to 
understand  it  fully." 

"  What  is  it  ?" 

"  Domestic  Economy  for  Young  Ladies  at 
Home,  by  Catherine  E.  Beecher." 

"  Ah,  that  is  one  my  mother  said  I  must 
read,  also.  It  is  not  a  new  work,  but  a  very 
good  one.  Was  you  going  to  read  something, 
Lillie  ?" 

"  Only  one  sentence.  I  think  your  mother 
had  just  been  reading  it  when  she  decided  for 
you  to  come  and  live  with  my  mother.  This 
is  it : — 

'• '  Whether  rich  or  poor,  young  or  old,  married  or  single, 
a  woman  is  always  liable  to  be  called  to  the  performance 
of  every  kind  of  domestic  duty,  as  well  as  to  be  placed  at 
the  head  of  a  family  ;  and  nothing  short  of  a  practical 
knowledge  of  the  details  of  housekeeping  can  ever  make 
those  duties  easy,  or  render  her  competent  to  direct  others 
in  their  performance.'  " 

"  And  very  truthful  it  is  too,  and  very 
important  that  both  of  you,  girls,  should 
treasure  it  up  in  your  memory.  It  is  the 
poorest  economy  in  the  world  for  a  mother 
to  hire  a  servant  to  sweep  and  clean  her 


BOOKS    AMJ    THK1K    COJSTESTS.  61 

daughter's  chamber.  Sweeping  is  a  healthy 
exercise,  and  the  dust  in  a  well-kept  room  is 
never  as  bad  as  you  often  encounter  in  the 
street,  or  on  the  rail  road.  In  sweeping  a 
carpet,  some  damp  substance  should  always 
be  used — not  sand,  as  some  recommend.  Tea 
leaves,  or  bran,  any  kind  of  leaves  wet  and 
scattered  over  the  floor  will  keep  down  the 
dust.  Never  use  a  broom  for  any  other 
purpose,  that  you  use  upon  a  carpet.  What 
have  you  now,  Lillie  ?" 

"  It  is  the  Elements  of  Character,  by  Mary 
G.  Chandler." 

"  Ah,  that  is  a  good  book.  There  is  a  very 
sensible  chapter  upon  the  subject  of  works  of 
imagination." 

"  Here  is  a  passage ;  one  perhaps  that  you 
allude  to  mother.  I  will  read  a  few  lines : 

"  Let  the  moralist  talk  and  write  against  this  as  he  may, 
it  will  be  of  no  use.  for  the  mass  of  human  minds  will  ne^er 
take  an  interest  in  any  book  that  does  not  address  itself  to 
the  imagination.*' 

"  That  is  very  true.  But  works  of  imagina- 
tion are  not  all  works  of  mere  fiction.  They 
may  portray  scenes  of  real  life,  in  an  imagina- 


02  1COONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

tive  form  and  attractive  language.  Do  you 
understand  ?  Suppose  any  one  who  knows  us 
all  very  well  should  imagine  what  is  our  con- 
versation and  write  it  down,  it  would  be  a 
work  of  imagination,  yet  not  fiction,  because 
it  would  contain  much  truth,  and  a  fair  picture 
of  our  every-day  life,  and  if  well  done,  the 
reader  would  imagine  he  saw  each  of  us,  and 
knew  something  of  our  character.  It  would 
be  a  work  of  imagination  of  both  writer  and 
reader." 

"  Now,  mother,  here  is  a  book  I  should  like 
to  have  one  like.  It  is  the  Youth's  Letter 
Writer.  You  have  always  told  me  that  to  be 
able  to  write  a  good  letter,  was  one  of  the  best 
accomplishments  for  a  child." 

"Which  one  is  that,  Lillie — I  have  several." 

"This  is  by  Mrs.  John  Farrar.  It  appears 
to  me  as  I  glance  over  it,  not  only  to  give 
instructions  in  letter-writing,  but  in  punctua- 
tion, syntax,  &c.  I  shall  look  into  that." 

*"I  told  you,  Salinda,"  said  Mrs.  Savery, 
"  that  the  first  thing  Lillie  would  see  when  she 
came  in,  would  be  the  book-case." 

"  Do  look  here,  mother ;  here  is  not  onlv  the 


PUNCTUALITY.  63 

Complete  Cook-book,  but  all  the  family.  Let 
me  see :  one,  two,  three,  four,  five,  six,  seven, 
comprising  cooking  and  all  sorts  of  house- 
work, amusements  and  economical  articles. 
And  here  is,  the  American  Frugal  Housewife, 
dedicated  to  those  who  are  not  ashamed  of 
economy — that  will  suit  us. 

And  what  is  this? — Oh,  there  comes  father." 
And  away  she  bounded  down  stairs  to  tell 
him  all  the  news  in  advance,  before  he  sat 
down  to  tea.  The  others  followed,  Mrs.  Sa- 
very  remarking  "that  clock-work  was  not 
more  regular  than  her  husband,  and  that 
Susan's  bell  would  ring  in  two  minutes  if  they 
were  not  down  in  that  time  after  he  shut  the 
front  door.  Every  family  should  have  regular 
hours  for  meals,  and  every  family  should  be 
punctual.  Nothing  disturbs  the  equanimity 
of  temper  in  a  woman  worse  than  waiting  for 
people  to  come  down  to  breakfast,  or  other 
meals  when  they  have  nothing  in  the  world  to 
hinder  them.  It  is  bad  economy  too,  for  she 
can  do  nothing  while  waiting,  and  many  a 
good  hour  is  lost  by  such  inattention. 

Mr.  Saverv  was  one  of  those  warm-hearted 


64  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

men  that  send  a  thrill  to  the  heart  through 
the  honest  meaning  shake  of  the  hand.  He 
did  more  than  that  to  Salinda.  He  looked 
upon  her  more  like  an  elder  daughter  just 
returned  from  a  long  absence — indeed  it  was 
some  six  years  since  he  had  seen  her — and  he 
not  only  took  her  by  the  hand,  but  he  took  her 
in  his  arms  and  gave  her  a  most  affectionate 
kiss,  bidding  her  welcome  to  her  new  home 
with  a  smile,  she  told  her  mother,  "that 
seemed  to  come  from  the  heart,  ana  spread 
over  his  face  with  a  radiance  of  love.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  his  children  love  him  so — who 
could  help  it?" 

It  is  certain  that  Salinda,  with  her  warm 
nature,  could  not,  if  she  had  tried,  which  was 
the  furthest  thing  from  her  mind. 

Strange  feelings  too,  this  embrace  gave  her. 
It  was  the  first  fond  parental  one  she  had  ever 
received  since  she  was  a  child. 

Her  father  was  a  good  father,  and  fond  of 
this  his  only  child,  but  he  was  one  of  those 
precise  pieces  of  formality  that  never  kiss  a 
wife  or  grown-up  daughter,  for  fear  it  might 
"spoil  her;"  or  because  it  looked  so  childish 


PAKENT-U.    .YFFEC1 iO.N     AMD    ITS    EFFECTS.       65 

to  be  always  petting  one.  And  Salinda  would 
as  soon  have  thought  of  putting  her  arms 
around  a  marble  statue  and  kissing  its  cold 
lips,  as  offering  such  an  act  of  affection  to  her 
father.  It  was  this  that  made  her  feel  now  as 
though  she  had  suddenly  burst  into  a  new  ex- 
istence. 

"  I  felt,"  she  wrote  years  afterwards,  u  as 
though  a  chain  that  had  hitherto  held  me  in  a 
cold  atmosphere  had  suddenly  broke,  and  I 
bounded  forward  into  a  life  of  love.  I  knew 
from  that  moment  I  was  a  better  girl,  and  pre- 
pared to  be  a  wiser  and  a  happier  woman.  If 
that  chain  had  not  been  broken,  I  might  have 
carried  that  same  cold  heart  to  my  husband's 
arms,  and  never  known  the  blessed  influence  of 
fond  affection,  which  has  been  the  soother  of 
every  affliction,  and  given  me  strength  to  per- 
form all  the  duties  of  a  wife  and  mother.  I 
give  credit  to  that  first  fond  embrace,  and  its 
subsequent  teachings,  for  much  of  my  happy 
life's  enjoyments." 

Salinda  was  a  little  surprised  to  see  Lillie 
take  the  seat  opposite  the  tea  things,  instead 


66  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

of  her  mother.  The  latter  saw  what  was  pas- 
sing in  her  mind  and  said : 

"I  am  learning  Lillie,  while  I  am  well,  to 
do  what  her  father  would  require  if  I  was  sick, 
or  away.  I  shall  ask  you  to  take  the  same 
place  by  and  by." 

When  all  were  seated,  Mr.  Savery  said, 
"Are  we  all  ready  ?  Then  let  us  ask  Him  who 
giveth  food,  to  give  us  thankful  hearts." 

For  a  minute  all  were  silent,  and  then  Lillie 
took  up  the  tea-pot,  and  offered  her  mother  a 
cup  of  tea.  Mrs.  Savery  replied,  "To-night,  at 
least,  Salinda  is  a  stranger — you  will  serve  her 
first.  That  is  a  simple  act  of  good  breeding." 

Kow  each  member  offered  to  another  such 
dishes  as  were  convenient  to  the  offerer,  until 
all  were  served. 

Salinda  was  struck  with  admiration  of  the 
table  furniture.  Mr.  Savery  was  a  man  in 
humble  circumstances,  yet  the  service  was 
rich,  though  very  plain.  The  sugar  bowl, 
cream  jug,  spoons,  and  forks  were  all  silver. 
The  tea-pot  was  some  cheaper,  though  good 
white  metal.  The  crockery  was  all  pure 


THE   TEA   TABLE.  67 

white,  plain  stone  china,  laid  upon  a  clean  oil- 
cloth. There  was  white  and  brown  home-made 
bread,  and  sweet  butter,  baked  apples  sugared, 
cheese,  and  corned  beef.  Enough  certainly, 
but  Mrs.  Savery  said  she  would  venture  to  say 
that  Susan  had  something  else  to  surprise 
them  with.  Lillie  said,  "Father  you  were  not 
home  to  dinner,  and  you  must  be  hungry." 

Away  she  ran  and  brought  a  nice  plate  of 
cold  baked  beans  and  a  slice  of  sweet  fat  pork. 
It  is  a  universal  Yankee  dish,  and  a  very  good 
and  economical  one. 

"  Thank  you  pet,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  you 
know  my  taste  exactly.  But  you  should  not 
offer  a  dish  to  one  at  table  without  offering 
to  all." 

All  declined,  but  she  said,  "You  have 
learned  me  something  which  I  will  remember." 

"  I  told  you  so,"  said  Mrs.  Savery ;  "  I 
never  knew  her  to  fail,  if  any  stranger  was 
here.  What  have  you  there  Susan  ?" 

"  Only  some  little  corn  cakes  for  Lillie  and 
Frank,  they  are  so  fond  of  them." 

She  set  down  a  plate  of  cakes  about  as  large 
around  as  the  rim  of  a  coffee  cup,  and  about  a 


68  KCONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

quarter  of  an  inch  thick.  Saliuda  thought 
them  delicious ;  she  had  never  seen  anything 
like  them  before. 

"How  are  they  made?  I  am  so  ignorant  of 
everything,  that  I  shall  appear  to  you  a  perfect 
kno  w-nothing. " 

Susan  was  called  in  for  an  explanation. 

"I  mix  the  meal  and  water,  with  a  little 
salt,  into  a  well-kneaded,  stiff  dough,  and  then 
I  take  a  lump  in  my  hands  and  flat  it  down 
nearly  as  thin  as  this.  So  I  go  on  till  I  get  all 
I  want  laid  upon  my  pie  board  " 

Mrs.  Savery  interrupted  her  with  a  remark 
that,  "Susan  never  put  dough  on  the  table,  no 
matter  how  small  the  batch." 

"  Sometimes  I  add  a  little  flour  as  I  finish 
kneading.  Then  I  pass  the  rolling-pin  over 
them  till  all  are  of  an  even  thickness.  Then  I 
have  my  griddle  hot,  and  lift  the  cakes  on  a 
broad  bladed  cake  turner — it  is  like  a  painter's 
spatula — and  then  clap  a  hot  lid  of  a  bake- 
oven  over  them,  taking  care  not  to  scorch 
them,  and  I  don't  care  how  hot  the  lid  is.  It 
is  the  only  way  that  corn  meal  can  be  cooked 
quick.  It  needs  more  cooking  than  any  other 


TEA-TABLE    TALK.  69 

kind  of  bread-stuff.  Do  you  think  these  are  as 
good  a*  usual?  I  did  not  think  of  making 
them  until  just  as  you  were  coming  down. 
I  had  to  hurry  a  little  too  much." 

All  expressed  themselves  pleased,  and  Salin- 
da  took  particular  notice  of  the  directions  for 
making,  as  she  thought  them  truly  delicious, 
and  all  the  better  that  the  cost  was  so  trifling. 

Frank  held  up  his  saucer  to  Lillie,  and  sim- 
ply said,  "  If  you  please,  sister."  She  under- 
stood him,  and  poured  it  full  of  sweet  milk. 
Turning  to  Salinda  she  said,  "  Do  follow 
Frank's  example — you  don't  know  how  nice 
these  wafers — that  is  what  we  call  them — are 
in  milk."  She  did  follow  suit,  and  thought 
she  had  never  tasted  a  sweeter  morsel  of 
wholesome  food  in  her  life. 

"  I  have  eaten  mush — or  as  Barlow  calls  it 
in  his  poem,  hasty  pudding — and  milk,  but  I 
am  not  fond  of  it,  for  it  always  seems"  to  me 
that  it  has  a  raw  taste." 

"  That  is  because  it  is  hasty  pudding," 
said  Susan.  "  Mush  cannot  be  cooked  In  less 
than  one  hour,  and  it  is  better  to  be  cooked 
four  hours.  I  am  very  careful  to  stir  my  meal 


70  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

slowly  into  boiling  water,  so  as  to  have  no 
lumps,  and  keep  stirring  it  almost  as  long  as  I 
can  move  the  pudding-stick,  and  then  let  it 
boil  as  long  as  it  will  blubber  up,  stirring  it 
frequently.  I  then  set  it  off  the  hot  fire  and 
let  it  simmer  by  the  hour.  If  we  are  to  have 
mush  for  supper,  I  generally  make  it  while  the 
range  is  hot  with  the  dinner  cooking,  as  well 
to  save  fire,  as  that  it  is  so  much  better." 

"  And  still  better,  Susan,"  said  Mr.  Savery, 
"  when  you  fry  it  for  breakfast.  But  after  all, 
the  great  secret  in  having  anything  good,  is  to 
have  it  properly  cooked." 

"  ISTot  altogether  sir,  for  the  best  cook  in  the 
world  cannot  make  good  bread  or  mush  of  corn 
meal  if  it  is  badly  ground.  I  recollect  reading 
when  I  was  quite  a  child,  in  Judge  Buel's 
paper,  called  the  Cultivator,  '  that  no  grain 
but  corn  could  be  absolutely  spoiled  for  human 
food,  by  being  ground  too  fine,' — I  believe  that 
can ;  for  example,  it  increases  in  goodness 
from  corn  flour,  up  to  coarse  hominy,  or  grains 
of  corn  hulled." 

"There  is  another  thing  you  believe  about 
corn,  Susan." 


ABOUT   COKN    MEAL.  71 

"  What  is  that,  sir  ?  in  the  economy  of  its 
use,  and  wholesomeness,  if  sufficiently  cooked?" 

"Yes,  and  that  none  but  pure  white  corn 
should  ever  be  eaten  by  man." 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  do ;  because  it  contains  more 
starch  and  less  oil,  and  always  keeps  sweeter. 
The  yellow  variety  is  best  to  make  pigs  grow 
tat  fast.  It  is  not  so  easily  digested  by  human 
stomachs." 

"  Susan,  will  you  tell  this  young  lady  how 
you  keep  a  barrel  of  meal  sweet  through  hot 
weather  ?" 

"  I  think  sir,  you  might  tell  that,  for  you 
showed  me.  It  is  very  easy,  though.  Mr. 
Savery  just  nailed  three  strips  of  board,  about 
two  inches  wide,  into  a  triangular  tube,  and 
bored  it  full  of  small  holes,  and  I  set  that  up 
in  the  centre  of  my  meal  barrel,  which  allows 
the  air  to  reach  the  middle  of  the  meal,  and  it 
never  gets  musty." 

"  Somebody,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  has  pa- 
tented a  process  for  keeping  flour  in  the  same 
way,  by  inserting  a  tin  tube." 

"  I  don't  see,  father,"  said  Lillie,  "  how  flour 
can  spoil,  when  it  is  so  perfectly  dry." 


72  KCONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

"There  is  your  error.  A  good  barrel  of 
flour  contains  from  twelve  to  sixteen  pounds  of 
water. 

All  seemed  astonished  at  this,  but  none 
doubted  it,  because  Mr.  Savery  never  made 
such  a  statement  before  his  children,  without 
good  authority. 

Salinda  took  up  the  silver  sugar  bowl  to  look 
at  the  mark.  It  was  perfectly  plain,  but  solid 
and  strong.  She  wondered  to  herself  whether 
their  table  had  been  set  with  a  few  extras,  be- 
cause she  was  present.  Mrs.  Savery  was  pos- 
sessed with  large  intuitive  faculties.  She 
perceived  what  was  in  Salinda's  thoughts,  and 
replied  to  them  just  as  though  they  were 
spoken. 

"  No,  we  never  make  any  change  in  our 
table — it  is  the  same  in  food  and  furnishing, 
whether  strangers  are  present  or  not.  "We  use 
silver,  simply  because  it  is  economical ;  so  we 
use  it  every  day.  In  some  families,  it  is  kept 
for  show ;  and  so  is  a  set  of  gilt  china.  We 
have  nothing  but  what  is  useful,  and  for  every 
day  use,  and  we  aim  to  have  everything  that 
is  necessarv  and  convenient.  AVe  use  an  oil- 


TABLE   FURNITURE.  73 

cloth  upon  the  tea  table,  because  we  deem  a 
table  cloth  unnecessary.  We  use  a  white  cloth 
at  breakfast  and  dinner,  because  we  then  have 
meats  with  gravies,  which  if  spilled  accident- 
ally will  be  absorbed  by  the  cloth,  and  not  run 
off  as  they  might  from  the  oil-cloth  and  spoil 
somebody's  dress." 

"  And,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  more  than  any- 
thing else,  because  we  are  accustomed  to  the 
sight  of  the  white  linen,  and  should  not  feel 
quite  satisfied  without  it.  And  that  is  the  true 
reason  why  we  use  many  other  things — habits, 
fashion,  long-continued  use,  without  inquiring 
why  or  wherefore,  binds  us  in  a  perfect  bond- 
age. Half  the  women  in  large  towns  go  to 
their  meals  just  as  a  slave  goes  to  his;  because 
they  are  bid.  They  are  not  hungry,  but  the 
hour  has  come.  They  never  know  what  they 
are  to  have  upon  their  own  table.  They  look 
upon  the  ordinary  duties  of  life  as  beneath 
their  notice,  and  therefore  hire  a  housekeeper 
to  do  just  what  every  woman  would  be  more 
womanly  if  she  did  herself.  If  a  mother  lends 
her  mind  and  hands  to  make  her  house  a 
happy  home,  she  will  rarely  find  occasion  to 
4 


ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

complain  of  husband  or  children  seeking 
pleasure  in  improper  places. 

"  One  of  the  first  duties  of  every  woman, 
whether  a  mother  or  not,  who  is  placed  at  the 
head  of  a  family,  should  be  to  inform  herself 
of  the  quality  of  provisions,  and  how  they 
should  be  cooked,  best  to  promote  economy 
and  health. 

"  An  article  that  is  very  suitable  for  winter 
food,  may  be  quite  improper  for  summer. 
For  instance,  fat  meat,  or  strong  animal  food 
of  any  kind,  gives  out  heat  to  the  body,  while 
fruits  on  the  other  hand  are  cooling  Buck- 
wheat cakes,  which  we  are  so  fond  of  in  cold 
weather,  would  not  be  at  all  suitable  in  mid- 
summer. Again,  food  should  be  suited  to  the 
different  stages  of  life.  What  would  nourish 
an  adult,  would  kill  a  babe.  A  hard  laborer 
can  eat  fat  meat  and  crude  vegetables;  but 
such  a  diet  would  never  suit  a  literary  person, 
or  any  one  that  lives  much  within  doors.  The 
more  oxygen  is  taken  into  the  lungs,  the  more 
food  can  the  stomach  digest.  Every  person 
who  has  the  care  of  a  family,  should  study 
Baron  Liebig's  Familiar  Letters  on  Chemistry, 


PROPEK   FOOD   FOR   MAN.  75 

in  which  he  gives  the  relative  proportion  of 
flesh-producing  and  warmth-giving  power  of 
various  substances,  which  proves  the  value  of 
a  variety  of  food.  Sugar  is  one  of  the  cheap- 
est articles  of  human  food,  because  it  has  a 
great  deal  of  the  oxygen-feeding  property  con- 
centrated in  its  substance  ;  but  because  of  that 
concentration  it  cannot  be  used  alone.  It 
must  be  mixed  with  farinaceous  food,  or  with 
fruits,  and  eaten  in  small  quantities  at  a  time, 
and  then  it  may,  in  fact  should  be  made  a  part 
of  our  daily  diet,  Crude  vegetables  have  but 
very  little  of  the  life-sustaining  principles  in 
their  composition,  yet  they  are  extremely 
valuable  to  distend  the  stomach,  and  mix  with 
the  meat  during  the  progress  of  digestion.  A 
man  could  not  live  upon  sugar,  starch,  and 
glue,  notwithstanding  they  contain  the  very 
substances  that  the  chemical  laboratory  of  the 
stomach  extracts  from  the  coarser  articles  he 
consumes.  The  stomach  can  create  nothing. 
It  only  digests,  separates,  appropriates  or  dis- 
solves the  different  portions  of  food  received. 
If  we  are  by  the  sea-side,  or  breathing  dry 
mountain  air,  or  the  cold  air  of  winter,  we 


76  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 


no  occasion  to  tickle  our  palates  with 
pickles,  spices,  or  any  of  the  various  condi- 
ments in  use  among  the  dwellers  in  cities,  to 
provoke  an  appetite.  Almost  everybody  eats 
too  much.  Children  should  never  be  tempted 
to  eat  more  than  the  stomach  can  readily 
digest.  Many  mothers,  by  continually  stuffing, 
make  gluttons  of  their  children. 

"  Food  has  been  so  cheap  in  America,  that 
all  classes  have  acquired  a  habit  of  over-eating, 
particularly  meats,  and  the  consequence  is  a 
national  complaint  of  dyspepsia. 

"  The  foundation  of  many  a  profligate's  life 
has  been  laid  bv  an  over-indulgent  mother, 

»/  * 

who  incites  an  appetite,  which  must  be  after- 
wards pampered. 

"Few  house-keepers  understand  the  true 
principles  of  preparing  food  in  the  best  manner 
to  promote  health  ;  and  in  many  families,  chil- 
dren are  allowed  to  partake  of  articles  daily 
seen  upon  the  table,  because  their  parents  and 
other  adults  do,  that  are  positively  injurious  to 
their  infantile  systems.  No  mother  should 
allow  articles  to  be  placed  upon  her  table, 
that  experience  teaches  her  are  injurious  to 


TKUK   ART   OF    COOKERY.  77 

any  member  of  the  family.  And  where  she 
lacks  experience,  education  should  furnish  her 
the  power  of  discrimination.  I  would  make 
the  act  of  preparing  food,  a  part  of  the  educa- 
tion of  every  child,  male  or  female,  but  parti- 
cularly the  latter. 

"To  preserve  all  the  nourishing  qualities  of 
meat,  and  still  leave  it  digestible,  is  the  great 
art  of  cookery. 

"  But,  excuse  me,  wife,  and  you  too,  girls,  I 
am  trenching  on  Mrs.  Savery's  ground.  It  is 
for  her  to  teach  you  the  art  of  cooking.  I 
only  intended  to  speak  of  the  philosophy  of 
food,  and  not  the  details  of  preparation." 

All  expressed  themselves  deeply  interested, 
and  begged  him '  to  go  on.  Mrs.  Savery 
remarked  to  Salinda,  that  she  must  expect  to 
hear  these  tea-table  lectures  frequently. 

"  True,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  I  have  always 
made  it  a  point,  at  this  meal  at  least,  for  then 
we  have  the  most  leisure,  that  my  children 
should  always  be  able  to  say,  'I  have  learnt 
one  thing  more  than  I  knew  before.'  I  think 
the  tea-table  the  most  fitting  place  for  a  re- 
union of  all  the  family,  in  the  enjoyment  of 


<8  ECONOMY     ILLUSTRATED. 

interchange  of  information.  To  us  who  labor 
all  day,  it  is  a  delightful  relaxation,  and  soother 
of  our  minds,  after  a  day  of  toil.  The  tea-table 
is  the  best  place  for  a  father  to  discover  the 
disposition  of  children,  as  well  as  a  proper 
place  to  teach  them  politeness. 

"  It  is  a  great  error  with  all  who  have  the 
charge  of  youth,  particularly  girls,  that  do- 
mestic economy  forms  no  part  of  their  studies. 

"  Your  mother  was  very  right,  when  she  said 
that  no  girl  was  fit  for  a  wife  that  did  not 
know  how  to  prepare  all  the  principal  dishes 
used  in  a  family.  It  would  save  every  one 
days  of  pain  and  mortification,  when  she  was 
placed  in  a  position  to  do  her  own  work  or 
direct  others  how  to  do  it,  if  she  was  taught 
herself  before  that  day  of  necessity  arrived. 
No  laHy  ever  felt  happy  and  comfortable  in 
her  own  house,  while  she  knew  that  her 
kitchen  girl  knew  more  than  her  mistress.  It 
is  the  worst  possible  economy,  thus  to  neglect 
the  education  of  a  girl,  because  as  a  woman, 
she  cannot  tell  whether  those  in  her  employ 
are  wasteful  or  saving.  I  don't  believe  one 
woman  in  ten  knows  how  to  perform  the  simple 


BOILING    A.    I'iKCK    OF    MEAT.  79 

operation  of  boiling  a  piece  of  meat.  Do  you 
Salinda?" 

"  Why,  yes  sir,  I  have  seen  that  done  so 
often,  that  I  should  not  hesitate,  though  I 
might  fail  in  more  difficult  cooking." 

"  Tell  us  then  how  you  have  seen  meat  pre- 
pared for  boiling." 

"  Our  old  cook  at  the  school  used  to  put 
her  meat  in  a  pot  of  cold  water  in  the  morning 
and  let  it  soak,  to  grow  tender,  she  said,  till 
towards  noon,  and  then  put  it  on  a  brisk  fire 
and  keep  it.  boiling  as  hard  as  possible  till 
done." 

"  And  then  throw  away  the  pot  liquor  ?" 

"Not  at  once.  She  always  set  it  away  to 
get  cold  and  then  took  off  the  fat.  Of  course 
she  would  throw  away  the  remainder — what 
else  could  she  do  with  it?" 

"It  is  just  as  I  expected.  She  threw  away 
nearly  all  the  gelatine  of  the  meat,  and  saved 
the  fibre  for  food,  which  contained  but  little 
more  sustenance  than  so  much  straw.  Did 
you  ever  observe  the  pot  liquor  when  it  looked 
like  jelly?" 


80  ECONOMY    LLLUSTRATKK 

"  Yea  sir,  often ;  but  I  did  not  know  but 
that  was  always- boiled  out  of  the  meat." 

"  It  cannot  be  boiled  out ;  but  it  is  almost 
always  soaked  out  by  just  such  a  foolish  pro- 
cess as  you  describe.  Cold  water  dissolves 
the  albumen  of  the  flesh,  and  hot  water 
hardens  it,  or  rather  cooks  it  in  the  substance 
of  the  meat. 

"  To  satisfy  yourself,  break  an  egg  in  cold 
water,  and  let  it  soak  as  long  as  the  cook  did 
her  meat,  and  then  boil  it  and  see  what  has 
become  of  the  white.  It  will  be  dissipated 
through  the  water.  Now  drop  an  egg  into 
boiling  water,  and  see  how  quick  the  white 
coagulates,  and  forms  a  compact  mass  around 
the  yolk.  It  is  just  so  with  a  piece  of  beef. 
It  contains  a  somewhat  similar  substance,  that 
dissolves,  or  soaks  out,  in  cold  water,  and  is 
lost,  unless  for  soup,  and  then  the  meat  always 
should  be  put  into  cold  water  an  hour  or  more 
before  it  is  put  to  boil.  But  meat  that  is  to 
be  eaten,  should  never  be  soaked  a  minute  in 
cold  water,  but  should  be  plunged  at  once  all 
over  in  water  boiling  hot.  This  at  once  coagu- 


PHILOSOPHY    OF    ROASTING    AND   BOILING.     81 

lates  the  albumen,  all  over  the  surface,  and 
prevents  loss  of  weight  or  nutritive  quality. 
It  is  idle  to  try  to  force  the  pot  to  boil  harder 
as  many  do,  because  the  heat  of  boiling  water 
cannot  be  increased,  and  meat  will  cook  in  a 
temperature  of  165  degrees.  It  only  needs 
the  full  heat  of  boiling  water  until  the  blood 
and  albumen  is  set,  and  then  it  cannot  be  dis- 
solved and  made  to  escape  in  the  water. 

"  A  piece  of  meat  put  down  to  roast,  should 
be  brought  as  near  a  hot  fire  as  possible  at 
first,  and  not  sirffered  to  heat  and  stew  slowly. 
Let  the  outside  be  slightly  browned  as  soon  as 
possible  and  then  you  may  cook  slow.  In  fact 
this  rule  will  apply  to  almost  everything — 
meat,  fish,  bread,  vegetables.  Potatoes  should 
never  be  put  in  cold  water.  If  dropped  one 
by  one  into  boiling  water,  they  will  never  be- 
come sodden.  You  heard  what  Susan  said 
of  those  little  corn  cakes — she  put  them 
between  two  hot  irons  until  the  outside  was 
crusted  over — that  should  be  the  rule  with  all 
bread  and  meat,  roasting,  baking,  or  boiling, 
unless  you  want  to  extract  the  juice  of  the 
meat  for  soup.  The  great  secret  of  the  good- 


82  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

ness  of  roast  potatoes  is,  because  they  are  put 
into  very  hot  ashes  or  embers,  that  cooks  the 
outside  at  once. 

"  There  now,  that  will  do  for  this  evening's 
lecture.  If  too  long  continued,  we  shall  tire 
our  new  pupil." 


THE   6 AVERTS   BREAKFAST.  88 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Saverys  Breakfast. 

PRECISELY  at  six  o'clock  the  next  morning, 
Susan's  bell  rung  for  breakfast,  and  in  pre- 
cisely five  minutes  afterwards,  all  were  seated 
around  a  snow-white  cloth,  and  a  breakfast  fit 
for  an  epicure.  It  was  now  the  month  of 
May,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Savery,  and  Frank, 
had  all  been  out  in  the  garden  at  work  for  an 
hour ;  Lillie  would  have  been  with  them,  but 
for  Salinda  and  her  books.  It  was  delightful 
when  Lillie  met  her  parents,  to  see  how 
pleasantly  she  said  good  morning  mother — 
how  do  you  do  father — are  you  well  brother ; 
and  to  hear  their  kind  expressions  towards 
her  and  Salinda,  made  the  latter  feel  as 
though  she  would  not  exchange  her  present 
situation  for  hotel  life,  or  boarding  school, 
upon  any  consideration  whatever. 

"  Mother,"  said  Lillie,  "I  shall  serve  you  first 
this  morning,  since  Salinda  begs  that  she  may 


84:  ECONOMY   ILLVSTKATKD. 

not  be  treated  as  a  stranger.  Will  you  have 
chocolate  or  tea?  We  have  discarded  the 
use  of  coffee,"  said  she,  addressing  herself  to 
Salinda,  "  but  if  you  are  wedded  to  it,  I  pre- 
sume you  can  have  it." 

"Thank  you,  I  never  take  anything  but 
black  tea,  not  very  strong,  and  only  one  cup 
at  a  meal." 

"Father  will  have  chocolate,  for  that  is 
about  half  his  breakfast." 

As  this  meal  was  so  much  like  our  own 
ideas  of  proper  eating,  we  are  inclined  to  give 
some  of  the  particulars. 

The  remainder  of  yesterday's  dinner  of 
baked  beans,  was  "  warmed  over,"  and  the 
pork  cut  in  small  slices,  white  and  cold 
on  a  plate.  The  little  pieces  of  corned  beef 
had  all  been  chopped  into  a  fine  hash,  with 
some  potatoes.  .  All  the  dry  bread  had  been 
made  into  a  delicious  dish  of  milk  toast. 
Frank  had  a  few  radishes  from  his  early 
planting,  of  which  he  was  not  a  little  proud. 
But  what  took  the  eye  of  Salinda  most,  was  a 
smoking  dish  of  grains  of  whole  corn,  as  white 
as  snow.  She  had  never  seen  anything  like 


HOMINY    AND    ECONOMY.  85 

it  before.  She  had  frequently  seen  what  is 
called  hominy,  or  samp,  or  hulled  corn,  but 
those  dishes  were  unlike  this,  both  in  taste  and 
looks.  She  asked,  of  course,  for  informa- 
tion. 

"  This  is  a  regular  breakfast  dish  with  us," 
said  Mrs.  Savery.  "  It  is  both  nutritious  and 
wholesome." 

"  And  economical,"  added  Mr.  Savery. 

"  Yes,  and  to  very  many,  that  is  the  most 
important  part  of  the  consideration.  For  the 
last  year  it  has  not  cost  much  more  per  bushel 
than  the  average  price  of  potatoes  ;  and  it  cer- 
tainly contains  more  than  double  the  nutri- 
ment, and  not  in  too  concentrated  a  form  to 
be  healthy.  This  is  corn  hulled  by  machinery, 
leaving  the  grain  nearly  whole.  We  often 
make  use  of  another  kind  of  hominy,  made  by 
cracking  the  grain  more  or  less  fine,  the 
coarser  the  better,  in  a  common  mill,  and 
then  sifting  and  winnowing  out  the  meal  and 
hulls.  We  rather  prefer  this  sort,  and  on 
account  of  a  dollar  going  so  much  further  in 
a  family  when  expended  for  hominy,  instead 
of  potatoes  at  one  or  two  dollars  a  bushel,  this 


86  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

excellent   dish  ought  to  be  more   generally 
known." 

"  How  is  it  prepared  ?  I  like  the  taste,  and 
your  reasons  for  its  use  so  well,  that  I  am 
anxious  to  learn  the  art  of  cooking  it  properly. 
I  am  sure  that  which  I  have  seen  heretofore, 
has  not  been  prepared  like  this." 

"  Put  it  in  soak  over  night  in  tepid  water. 
Boil  it  gently  in  a  porcelain  or  tinned  kettle, 
at  least  two  hours  in  the  same  water,  adding 
more  if  necessary,  and  taking  care  not  to  let 
it  scorch,  and  that  all  the  water  is  absorbed 
when  taken  off.  Keep  it  in  the  same  vessel, 
warming  it  over  from  time  to  time,  until  con- 
sumed." 

"  Do  you  add  salt  or  butter  ?" 

"Never  while  cooking.  Boil  it  in  soft, 
clear  water  only.  At  the  table,  you  may 
eat  it  with  salt  and  butter,  or  sugar,  or 
in  milk,  or  mix  it  with  your  meat  gravy. 
It  is  a  good  substitute  for  rice  in  a  pudding. 
It  is  excellent  fried  in  a  little  bacon  fat,  like 
mush,  to  a  nice  brown.  We  will  try  that 
some  morning." 

"  I  am  sure  this  is  a  secret  worth  knowing 


8EOKET8    WORTH    KXOVV1.M.;.  5j 

I  have  often  thought  how  much  is  wasted  in 
some  houses,  and  how  little  is  known  in  all, 
of  the  economy  of  purchasing  and  preparing 
food.  I  have  read  somewhere,  that  one  half 
of  the  American  people  wasted  enough  to  feed 
the  other  half;  and  that  the  greatest  kitchen 
curse,  was  a  frying  pan ;  "but  I  never  under- 
stood why." 

"It  is  because  that  meat  cooked  in  that  way, 
is  about  the  worst  cooked  of  any  way  it  can  be 
both  for  health  and  economy.  I  don't  know 
of  but  one  thing  worse  than  the  smell  of  burnt 
grease  in  the  frying  pan,  and  that  is  that  it 
should  be  taken  into  the  stomach  for  digestion. 
The  usual  practice  in  frying  meat  or  anything 
else,  is  to  put  only  enough  fat  in  the  pan  to 
burn  and  blacken,  and  scorch  the  meat,  or  fish, 
often  giving  it  a  bitter  taste.  If  any  article  is 
to  be  fried,  fat  enough  to  float  it  should  be 
used,  and  that  heated  as  hot  as  possible  without 
scorching,  and  then  plunge  the  meat,  fish, 
chicken,  dough,  potatoes,  apples,  &c.,  all  over 
in  the  hot  fat  at  once.  Fish  cannot  be  fried 
fit  to  eat,  in  any  other  way.  Meat  and 
chicken  can  always  be  better  cooked  in  some 


88  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

other  way,  besides  trying.  Fried  potatoes  and 
fried  apples,  if  properly  done,  are  very  good 
food.  Fried  cakes,  or  dough-nuts,  are  a  great 
Yankee  dish,  but  are  often  badly  cooked.  They 
are  fried  in  too  little  lard,  and  soaked  with 
burnt  grease,  forming  a  most  unhealthy  com- 
pound. I  shall  endeavor  to  tell  you  by  and 
by  several  methods  of  cooking  meats,  both 
economical  and  healthy.  For  instance,  a  stew 
that  we  often  have  and  which  is  eaten  with  a 
good  relish,  is  made  of  a  pound  of  beef,  that 
fried  or  broiled,  would  have  looked  like  a  very 
diminutive  breakfast  for  half  a  dozen  persons. 
Now,  with  the  addition  of  two  or  three  pota- 
toes, and  the  gravy  of  our  last  roast,  thickened 
with  crumbs  of  stale  bread,  it  makes  an  ample 
breakfast  for  us  all." 

"  Yes  mother,'7  said  Frank,  "  and  the  gravy 
on  the  hominy  is  most  delicious.  Besides,  the 
meat  is  a  great  deal  more  tender  than  it  would 
be  fried." 

"You  are  taking  lessons  all  round,"  said 
Mr.  Savery  to  Salinda,  laughing  heartily. 

"  And  for  which  I  am  truly  thankful.  I 
shall  endeavor  to  profit  by  all  I  hear  and  see. 


\VO.RK   FOK   THE  "DAY.  89 

Are  you  going  now  sir  ?  I  hope  1  have  not 
detained  you." 

"  Not  long.  We  generally  take  our  time  to 
eat  all  our  meals.  I  consider  it  about  the 
worst  waste  of  time  to  eat  in  a  hurry.  Susan, 
will  you  give  me  my  dinner  pail.  I  shall  see 
you  again  at  six.  Good  bye." 

Lillie  was  not  to  be  cheated  of  what  she  had 
always  been  accustomed  to,  because  a  stranger 
was  present,  and  she  ran  after  him  into  the 
entry,  and  a  slight  sound  followed,  such  as  has 
often  betrayed  a  kiss  in  the  dark. 

"Now  Salinda,"  said  Mrs.  Savery,  "how 
have  you  apportioned  your  time  for  the  day  ? 
for  there  is, as  much  in  economy  of  expendi- 
ture of  time,  as  in  the  expenditure  of  money. 
Frank,  what  are  you  going  to  do  ?" 

"  I  shall  work  an  hour  in  the  garden,  before 
school,  and  then  I  shall  '  wash  my  face  and 
comb  my  hair,'  and — you  know  the  rest ;"  and 
away  he  ran  to  his  work,  whistling  a  merry 
catch  to  the  mocking-bird  that  hung  from  his 
mother's  window,  which  the  bird  at  once  took 
up  and  repeated,  and  so  they  echoed  each 
other. 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

Salinda  replied  to  the  question  addressed  to 
her,  that  she  had  taken  the  matter  into  consid- 
eration, and  asked  Mrs.  Savery  for  Lillie's 
company  half  an  hour  to  go  out  and  buy  the 
stuff  for  the  gauze  curtain  for  the  books ;  the 
calico  curtain  for  the  dresses,  and  the  stuff  for 
the  lounge. 

"  And  while  you  are  out,  you  may  buy  some 
stuff  for  a  mosquito  net,  which  you  will  want 
by  and  by,  and  may  as  well  have  on  hand.  I 
offered  to  get  it,  but  your  mother  would  not 
listen  to  it.  She  said, '  I  want  Salinda  to  begin 
to  provide  everything  for  herself.'  It  is  all 
very  well.  You  may  get  your  hat  on  at  once, 
Lillie,  as  instead  of  half  an  hour,  it  will  take 
a  full  one,  and  by  that  time  you  will  have  to 
get  ready  for  school." 

"  And  when  I  return,"  said  Salinda,  "I  shall 
work  till  about  eleven  o'clock,  and  then  I  have 
an  engagement  with  Susan  in  the  kitchen." 

"  I  wonder  what  is  on  hand  ?"  said  Lillie. 

"  Nothing  unusual ;  I  am  only  going  to  take 
my  first  lesson  in  bread-making,  and  learn  how 
t  >  »li>  that  very  difficult  piece  of  cooking,  boil 
a  potatoe." 


MOSQUITO    NETS.  91 

"  In  buying  your  mosquito  not,"  said  Mrs. 
Savery,  as  they  were  going  out,  '•'  recollect  that 
of  all  colors,  green  is  the  best  for  the  eye  to 
rest  upon  as  it  wakes  in  the  morning,  and  red 
or  pink  the  worst.  A  light  blue  is  very  good, 
and  a  rather  more  durable  color.  White  soils 
too  easily.  For  the  curtain,  a  drab  ground, 
with  a  small  sprig  or  vine  would  be  pretty. 
I  always  select  calicoes  or  carpets,  with  figures 
that  have  some  meaning — something  that  re- 
presents something  in  nature.  Everything  of 
that  kind  ought  to  be  made  useful  rather  than, 
fanciful.  For  instance,  a  carpet  might  be 
made  a  complete  study  of  tropical  plants,  in 
natural  colours,  the  names  and  uses  of  which 
could  readily  be  learned  by  children." 

Thank  you,  for  these  useful  hints,  particu- 
larly as  to  colors,  not  only  now  but  for  the 
future." 

"Lillie,"  said  Salinda  as  they  were  going 
down  the  street,  "  what  color  is  your  mosquito 
bar?" 

'  "  It.  was  a  light  blue,  but  I  believe  it  is 
amon<£  the  things  that  were.  I  suppose  mo- 
ther will  get  a  new  one,  as  she  says  it  is  bet- 


VZ  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

ter  to  pay  the  expense  of  a  net,  than  to  be  tor- 
mented a  single  night  with  one  mosquito. 
And  then,  in  case  of  a  little  indisposition,  they 
are  so  good  to  keep  off  the  flies.  My  father 
says  it  would  be  good  economy  for  any  farmer 
to  pay  for  mosquito  nets  to  enable  his  hired 
men  to  sleep  well;  they  would  do  so  much 
more  work." 

Salinda  had  obtained  the  information  she 
wanted.  She  merely  wanted  to  know  that 
Lillie's  bed  was  unprovided,  so  that  she  might 
buy  two  nets  just  alike,  as  well  as  two  cur- 
tains to  shield  the  dresses ;  for  she  already 
felt  that  she  could  not  do  enough  to  pay  for 
all  the  useful  information  she  was  daily  obtain- 
ing from  every  member  of  this  family. 

She  said  nothing  of  her  intentions,  but 
managed  to  give  them  all  a  pleasant  little  sur- 
prise one  day,  to  find  a  net  up  at  each  bed 
exactly  alike. 

She  chose  for  the  curtain,  a  piece  of  calico, 
with  a  drab  ground — like  ground  color,  she 
said — with  a  delicate  sprig  of  the  hop  in  full 
bearing.  "The  very  sight,"  said  she,  "may 
have  a  sort  of  magnetic  influence,  and  induce 
sleep,  as  well  as  a  hop  pillow." 


FIRST    LESSON    IN    THE    KITCHEN.  93 

It  was  a  sensible  idea,  for  the  mind  certainly 
has  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  body. 

It  would  have  been  no  hard  matter  to  read 
what  was  passing  in  the  mind  of  Susan,  when 
Salinda  came  down  to  the  kitchen  ;  for  it  was 
printed  upon  her  face. 

"  Now,"  she  thought,  "  I  shall  have  an 
opportunity  to  pay  a  part  of  the  debt  of  grati- 
tude I  owe  this  sweet  girl's  mother.  But  for 
her,  I  might  have  been  a  beggar,  thief,  or  at 
best  a  rag  picker  in  the  street;  for  I  was  a 
helpless  orphan,  without  a  hand  to  guide,  or 
tongue  to  give  me  a  kind  word.  She  took 
me  from  the  street  to  a  school  room,  and  taught, 
and  fed,  and  clothed  me ;  and  when  she  saw 
that  I  was  not  all  viciousness,  she  took  me 
home.  Oh !  how  many  poor  children  might 
be  saved  in  the  same  way.  But  it  always 
appeared  to  me  that  such  children  in  the 
streets  of  a  city,  only  held  an  equal  rank  and 
value  with  the  rats.  Both  are  looked  upon  as 
vermin  that  are  eating  into  the  big  cheese  of 
society,  and  still  those  whose  substance  they 
devour,  only  seek  to  punish  them  for  having 
an  appetite,  instead  of  training  that  appetite 


94  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

to  relish  other  than  stolen  food.  Talk  of  eco- 
nomy !  The  worst  economy  on  earth  is  this 
waste  of  human  beings.  Worse  than  waste, 
for  these  poor  children  are  not  only  permitted 
but  compelled  to  grow  up  as  worthless  as  rats, 
to  prey  upon  all  that  come  within  their  reach 
when  their  teeth  are  grown. 

"Is  human  labor  so  worthless  that  it  should 
thus  be  wasted?  What  if  every  woman  who 
has  the  means  should  do  as  Mrs.  Love  well  did 
by  me,  where  should  we  find  any  vagabond 
children  in  the  next  generation?" 

It  is  curious  to  observe  what  magnetic  power 
there  is  in  a  smile — one  that  comes  from  the 
heart.  Salinda  was  won  by  the  kind  look  and 
words  of  Susan,  to  feel  that  she  was  not  looked 
upon  as  an  intruder  in  the  kitchen,  and  that 
she  might  ask  questions  that  would  tire  the 
patience  of  one  less  willing  than  her  present 
instructor,  and  still  receive  pleasant  an- 
swers. 

"I  have  come,"  said  Salinda,  "to  see  you 
make  bread,  and  I  suppose  I  shall  ask  what 
will  seem  to  you  a  great  many  foolish  ques- 
tions." 


LEARNING    TO    MAKE    BKKAD.  95 

"Which  I  shall  answer  strictly  according  to 
Scripture." 

"What?  answer  a  fool  according  to  his 
folly." 

"  Yes,  but  God  never  intended  that  thos; 
answers  should  be  such  as  would  make  him 
laore  foolish.  No ;  if  you,  compared  to  me, 
are  not  wise  in  bread-making,  it  will  give  me 
as  great  pleasure  to  teach  you  as  ever  it  did 
your  mother  to  teach  me. 

"This  is  what  we  call  a  sponge.  I  set  it 
this  morning,  and  you  see  it  is  now  ready  to 
knead  into  loaves.  This  is  by  far  the  most 
important  part  of  breadmaking." 

"  Please  tell  me  about  setting  the  sponge, 
as  you  call  it." 

"  Oh,  yes !  Well,  I  use  about  ten  quarts 
of  flour,  which  I  put  into  this  large  wooden 
tray,  and  make  a  hole  in  the  centre  and  pour 
in  about  half  a  pint  of  brewer's  yeast,  mixed 
with  a  pint  of  water,  milk  warm.  As  I  pour 
it  in  gradually,  I  stir  some  of  the  flour  in  with 
it,  till  it  forms  a  batter.  Then  I  take  a  hand- 
ful of  dry  flour  and  sprinkle  over  the  top. 
Then  I  spread  over  this  a  thick  tow  cloth, 


96  KCOXOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

which  I  call  my  sponge  cloth,  and  never  use 
it  for  anything  else  but  covering  the  bread 
tray.  Now  I  set  my  sponge  by  the  tire,  or  in 
the  sun,  and  go  aboiTt  my  work  till  it  is  ready 
to  knead." 

"  How  do  you  know  when  it  is  read}'  ?" 
"  I  frequently  look  at  it,  and  when  it  seems 
to  be  working,  that  is,  sponging  up,  so  as  to 
crack  the  covering  of  flour,  it  is  then  ready  to 
form  into  dough." 

"That  is  what  you  are  going  to  do  now.5' 
"  Yes ;  and  therein  lies  the  secret  of  good 
bread.  Not  one  in  ten  ever  kneads  the  dough 
enough.  It  is  hard  work,  and  requires  strong 
hands,  and  can  only  be  done  by  hand.  I 
begin  thus ;  by  pouring  in  warm  water  with 
one  hand  and  mixing  it  with  the  other.  It 
will  take  about  two  quarts,  so  that  altogether 
I  shall  use  of  yeast  and  water,  about  half  as 
many  pounds  as  I  have  flour.  Clear  soft  water 
is  the  best.  I  use  cistern  water,  filtered. 
Milk-warm  or  blood-warm  is  about  right.  I 
add  a  table-spoonful  of  fine  salt.  This  I  scat- 
ter over  the  sponge  before  I  begin  to  knead. 
Mixing  flour  and  water  together  will  make 


KNEADING    DOUGH.  97 

dough,  but  if  you  want  good  bread,  you  must 
take  both  hands  in  this  way,  and  work  the 
mass  into  a  stiff,  tough  dough. 

"There,  now,  you  see  how  it  adheres  together, 
so  that  I  could  draw  it  out  in  strands  and  braid 
a  rope.  Now  I  form  it  into  a  compact  ball, 
and  cover  it  up,  and  set  it  here  in  this  warm 
spot  of  sunshine  that  is  pouring  through  the 
window  upon  the  kitchen  table.  I  shall  let  it 
stand  there  about  an  hour,  and  then  take  a 
knife  and  cut  it  evenly  into  four  parts,  each 
of  which  I  shall  take  separately  upon  my  pie 
board,  and  form  it  into  a  loaf  to  suit  one  of 
these  pans.  By  timing  my  work  in  this  way, 
I  cook  my  dinner,  and  bake  my  bread  by  one 
heat  in  the  stove." 

"What  is  that  for?"  said  Salinda,  as  she 
saw  her  cut  off  a  lump  of  dough  as  large  as 
her  fist  and  lay  it  aside. 

"  That  is  to  leaven  another  baking.  Do  you 
see  those  pieces  of  stale  bread  which  I  am 
soaking  in  milk.  I  never  waste  a  morsel  of 
bread.  Either  in  pudding,  gravy,  or  in  rusk, 
I  use  up  all.  These  pieces  I  soak  till  so  soft  that 
I  can  add  a  little  flour  and  knead  the  whole 


98  ECONOMY     ILLU&IKATEI;. 

together.  I  also  add  a  little  shortening.  This 
lump  of  dough  I  shall  knead  into  the  mass, 
and  that  will  make  the  whole  light.  Then  I 
mould  it  out  like  biscuit,  and  bake  them  after 
the  bread  is  done,  and  have  them  warm  for 
tea.  Oh.  I  forgot  the  sweetening.  I  always 
sweeten  rusk." 

"  How  often  do  you  bake  bread  I" 
u  Twice  A  week ;  but  if  I  had  a  large  brick 
oven  I  would  only  bake  once  a  week ;  because 
stale  bread,  or  more  properly  speaking,  ripe 
bread,  is  for  the  most,  healthy  and  economical, 
and  as  I  never  waste  any  old  bread,  it  is  no- 
matter  how  much  I  have  on  hand." 

"Do  you  ever  mix  potatoes  with  your  flour ?'r 
"  1  used  to-  when  potatoes  were  cheap.  At 
a  dollar  or  more  a  bushel,  it  is  not  good  eco- 
nomy. I  often  add  a  little  corn  meal,  but  I 
always  cook  it  partly  first,  in  a  thin  mush. 
If  added  raw  to  the  flour,  it  will  not  cook 
enough  in  the  baking  process.  For  a  change,. 
I  make  bread  with  an  addition  of  a  little 
sugar,  or  butter,  i»r  >  \veet  lard,  I  forgot  to 
say  I  always  add  butter  to  my  rusk.  Some- 
times I  divide  my  dough,  and  sweeten  one  loaf 


KEEPING   BEES   IN   TOWN.  Q9 

for  the  children.  They  are  fond  of  it,  and  it 
is  much  more  healthy  than  rich  cake.  When 
the  writer  of  that  text  which  says  'bread  is 
the  staff  of  life,'  wrote  it,  he  certainly  referred 
to  good  bread;  not  such  miserable  bread  as 
we  find  in  most  houses.  If  you  have  good 
bread,  you  never  will  be  at  any  loss  to  set  a  very 
good  meal,  upon  emergency,  without  meat. 
You  may  have  fresh  bread  and  butter,  dry 
toast  and  butter,  soft  toast  with  water  or  milk, 
bread  and  milk,  or,  and  what  can  be  nicer,  some 
bread  and  butter  and  honey." 

"  Speaking  of  honey,  I  am  quite  surprised 
to  find  that  Mr.  Savery  keeps  bees,  here  in 
town.  I  thought  they  must  always  be  kept  in 
the  country." 

"  That  is  quite  a  mistake.  Here  is  our  gar- 
den and  half  a  dozen  others  right  around  here, 
and  a  good  many  trees,  and  then  it  "is  only 
half  a  mile  out  into  the  orchards  and  fields. 
We  have  half  a  dozen  hives  now,  all  from  one 
that  cost  six  dollars,  I  believe,  in  the  fiist  place, 
and  they  have  cost  nothing  since,  except  a  lit- 
tle feeding,  to  save  honey,  and  for  two  years  we 
have  had  honey  plenty  in  the  house,  and  have 


100  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

given  a  good  deal  to  friends,  and  sold  fifty 
dollars'  worth. 

"  Mrs.  Savery  says  it  is  worth  while  to  keep 
bees,  just  to  learn  children  the  value  of  indus- 
try, and  how  property  can  be  accumulated 
little  by  little,  and  how  we  may  all  learn  the 
value  of  improving  our  time  while  in  health, 
to  lay  up  a  store  for  the  winter  of  old  age. 
The  economy  of  space,  too,  as  exhibited  in  the 
formation  of  their  cells,  and  the  discipline  of  the 
family  to  the  government  of  one  head,  are  all 
worth  studying.  "Would  you  like  to  go  and  see 
them  at  work,  you  will  just  have  time  before 
dinner.  I  am  going  to  set  the  table  now." 

"  Oh,  I  am  afraid  to  go  near  them,  they 
eting  so." 

"  Only  their  enemies  or  persons  they  don't 
like.  Ours  are  domesticated.  Yon  may  go 
and  sit  down  by  the  hour,  near  the  hive,  and 
they  will  not  touch  you.  Frank  often  goes 
out  to  play  with  them.  They  seem  to  know 
him." 

"  Pray  let  me  set  the  table,  and  I  will  go 
afterwards  and  walk  in  the  garden  and  look  at 
the  bees,  and  Frank's  hen's  nests. 


BOUILLI.  101 

"  Now,  don't  tell  me  a  thing,  and  I  will  see 
if  I  cannot  arrange  the  whole  quite  to  your 
satisfaction." 

"Let  me  assure  you,"  said  Mrs.  Savery, 
when  told  by  Susan  how  she  had  been  learn- 
ing to  make  bread,  and  set  the  table,  "  let  me 
assure  you,  Salinda,  that  while  you  go  to  work 
with  such  a  cheerful  disposition  and  such  an 
earnest  desire  to  learn  these  little  arts  of 
housekeeping,  you  will  never  find  the  least 
difficulty.  It  is  the  first  great  step  to  go  at 
everything  with  a  cheerful  heart,  and  determi- 
nation to  do  right,  towards  making  everything 
right.  Ah,  there  come  the  children,  punctual 
as  the  clock;  now,  Susan,  we  will  have  our 
little  plain  dinner.  What  have  you  got  ? 
Oh !  a  nice  piece  of  fresh  beef,  not  exactly 
like  the  French  bouilli,  but  after  a  way  of  our 
own.  It  is  a  piece  of  the  rump,  from  7  to  10 
pounds,  which  was  boiled  in  soup  yesterday, 
of  which  we  made  our  dinner  without  cutting 
the  meat.  It  was  slightly  flavored  with  onion, 
parsley  and  thyme.  Susan  always  adds  a  dry 
pepper  pod,  one  of  our  own  raising,  and  just 


102  LroXoMV    ILLUSTRATED. 


salt  enough  to  flavor  it,  and  while  it  is  warm 
she  sticks  in  these  cloves.  Yon  will  find  it 
tender  and  good. 

"  We  are  all  fond  of  it  cold,  but  if  it  should 
be  preferred  hot,  lay  it  in  a  dish  and  clap  it  in 
the  oven  a  few  minutes.  In  the  season  of 
them,  we  always  add  tomatoes.  Now  we 
substitute  tomato  catsup.  This  asparagus  you 
will  find  fresh  and  tender.  It  is  a  healthy 
vegetable  at  this  season.  How  will  you  eat 
your  lettuce.  With  sugar,  as  Frank  is  fixing 
his?" 

"  I  never  tasted  it  that  way.  When  I  have 
been  at  school,  the  old  housekeeper  was  always 
scolding  about  our  using  so  much  sugar,  and 
I  don't  know  what  she  would  have  said,  if  any 
one  had  used  it  upon  lettuce." 

"  She  knew  nothing  of  economy.  I  should 
have  allowed  you  to  sweeten  your  water, 
bread,  milk,  vegetables  and  meat  if  yon  liked 
it  ;  so  you  did  not  eat  raw  sugar,  you  might 
have  all  you  wished,  that  is,  in  place  of  the 
same  cost  of  other  food." 

"  I  declare  the  lettuce  is  much  better  this 


GREENS.  103 

« 

way  than  as  it  is  usually  fixed  at  the  hotel, 
with  mustard,  oil,  vinegar,  pepper,  salt,  cat- 
sup, etc.,  and  I  dare  say,  more  healthy." 

"If  you  like  vinegar,  you  will  find  the 
sweet  and  sour  very  pleasant  mixed  together. 
How  do  you  like  the  beef?" 

•"It  is  excellent,  and  so  is  the  asparagus; 
and  these  greens,  what  are  they?" 

"  It  is  a  compound,  I  think.  Frank  knows 
best,  he  gathered  them.  How  is  it,  Frank  ?" 

" Two  dandelions ;  three  turnip  tops;  a  few 
•sprigs  of  spinage,  a  little  pig-weed,  or  lamb's 
quarter,  and  the  balance  -cabbage  sprouts. 
All  good,  and  as  I  could  not  get  a  mess  of 
either,  I  thought  I  would  go  in  for  an  assort- 
ment. This  part  is  hen  fruit,"  said  he,  laugh- 
ing, and  pointing  to  the  halves  of  hard-boiled 
eggs  that  Susan  bad  added  to  the  dish  of 
greens.  "Shall  1  help  you  to  a  little 
more  2" 

"  If  you  please.  I  am  fond  of  such  food, 
and  believe  it  is  healthy,  and  I  suppose,  Frank, 
not  very  expensive," 

"  I  can  tell  you  in  the  fall,  or  rather  sister 
Lillie  can;  for  she  sets  down  every  day  debt 


104  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

t 

and  credit  to  the  garden.  I  wonder  how 
much  she  will  credit  my  two  dandelions." 

"  I  don't  know,  Frank ;  how  much  do  you 
think  they  were  worth  ?" 

"Well,  they  were  good  big  ones,  but  I 
guess  on  the  whole,  you  may  set  down  the 
whole  mess  of  greens  at  two  cents." 

"That  is  a  very  fair  estimate,  my  son ;  and  I 
am  glad  to  see  you  inclined  to  be  just,  even  in 
your  dealings  with  the  garden.  You  will  find 
it  saves  a  great  many  cents  in  the  course  of 
the  year." 

"  Yes,  ma'am ;  I  am  going  to  charge  you 
eight  cents  for  the  asparagus,  two  cents  for  the 
lettuce,  and  one  cent  for  the  radishes  I  shall 
give  you  for  tea." 

"  There  is  thirteen  cents  to-day ;  and  cer- 
tainly you  give  us  things  at  very  low  rates, 
and  much  more  fresh  than  those  we  get  in 
market.  Your  hen-house,  too,  Frank,  has  been 
very  profitable  to  us  the  past  year.'' 

"  And  that  reminds  me  that  I  must  go  and 
give  the  biddies  some  water,  and  cut  a  little 
grass  for  them,  before  I  go  to  school." 

"Oh,  let  me  do  that,"  said  Salinda,  "I  am 


TO-MOKROW.  105 

i 

going  out  with  Susan,  after  dinner,  to  look  at 
them." 

"  Will  you  ?  well,  I  thank  you  ;  I  will  do  as 
much  for  you,  or  somebody  else,  it  is  all  the 
same,  so  that  we  help  one  another,  and  try  to 
do  all  the  good  we  can  in  the  world,  so  my 
mother  says,  and  I  never  knew  her  to  say 
anything  wrong." 

"  And  I  hope  I  never  shall  know  my  son  to 
say  or  do  anything  wrong." 

"  I  hope  not,  mother ;  and  therefore,  if  sis- 
ter Lillie  is  ready,  we  will  hurry  off  to  school  > 
and  to-morrow — '  "Well,  well,'  as  our  minister 
says,  'ye  know  not  what  a  day  may  bring 
forth,' — but  to-morrow  is  Saturday." 

"  What  do  you  expect  to-morrow  will  bring 
forth  for  you,  Frank,  a  play-day  ?" 

"  Not  exactly,  thougli-I  think  I  shall  make 
it  one  of  amusement.  In  the  first  place,  let 
me  see — well,  in  the  tirst  place,  I  shall  get  up 
and  take  a  wash.  Then  I  shall  go  down  and 
help  father  in  the  garden  till  breakfast-time. 
Then  I  shall  wash  again.  Cold  water  don't 
hurt  me  any.  At  breakfast  I  expect  to  eat 
two  fresh  eo-^g.  Give  the  biddies  credit  for  a 


106  J'COXOMY    ir.LUSTHATKI). 

dozen,  Lillie ;  that  is  fifteen  cents.  After 
breakfast,  I  shall  cut  my  grass  for  the  first 
time.  Can't  tell  how  much  that  will  be  till 
old  Cap'en  Peabody  comes  with  his  wheelbar- 
row, to  take  it  home.  It  will  bring  us  milk, 
though,  for  onr  Sunday  pudding.  Then  I  am 
going  to  clean  out  my  hen-house,  and  put 
every  scrap  of  dirt  in  the  cistern,  where  father 
mixes  all  sorts  of  stuff'  which  makes  onr 
melons,  and  lima  beans,  and  tomatoes,  and 
celery,  and  other  rank  feeders  upon  manure, 
as  father  calls  them;  and  after  that  I  am 
going  over  to  the  new  house  where  father  is 
at  work,  to  nail  five  pieces  of  waste  boards 
together  into  a  box.  for  a  nest  for  my  old  blue 
hen,  for  she  told  me  yesterday  that  she  should 
want  to  commence  setting  about  Sunday. 
After  that,  I  have  nothing  particular  on  hand, 
and  shall  be  at  the  service  of  my  mother,  or 
either  of  these  my  sisters,  for  a  walk,  or  ride, 
or  to  work,  or  read,  or  play.  Xow,  are  you 
ready,  Lillie?  Good-bye,  mother,  good-bye, 
sister,"  kissing  his  hand  to  Salinda,  and  run- 
ning oft'  in  a  glee  of  laughter. 

"Thank  you,  brother  Frank.     Remember, 


DEVELOPING   FACULTIES   OF   CHILDREN.     107 

then,  to-morrow  afternoon,  you  are  at  the  ser- 
vice of  the  ladies.  Good-bye.  What  a  remark- 
able boy,"  said  Salinda,  to  his  mother,  "for 
one  of  his  years.  I  do  not  understand  why 
one  child  should  be  so  manly,  or  womanly, 
and  another  so  childish," 

"It  is  because  they  are  kept  so  childishly 
by  their  parents.  The  mind,  the  natural  facul- 
ties have  no  chance  to  develop  their  power. 
Infants  have  the  organs  of  voice,  but  do  not 
use  them  because  the  reasoning  faculties  have 
not  yet  taught  them  the  meaning  of  words. 
As  soon  as  that  faculty  is  developed,  children 
become  great  talkers,  mere  chatterers,  many 
of  them.  Those  who  hear  correct  language, 
acquire  and  use  it.  Without  giving  a  child 
ideas,  how  is  it  to  express  them  ?  Without  giv- 
ing a  child  to  understand  what  its  ears,  eyes, 
and  hands  are  for,  how  is  that  child  to  exercise 
anything  but  the  natural  faculties  of  a  child. 

"  To  improve  a  child's  organ  of  language,  you 
must  converse  with  that  child,  not  in  namby 
pamby  baby  talk,  but  as  though  you  were  con- 
versing with  a  man  or  woman.  If  my  children 
talk  manly,  it  is  because  they  never  hear  any 


108  IVONOMY    lUA'STKATKI). 


other  language  from  their  parents.  Frank  may 
seem  a  little  forward,  sometimes,  but  k  is  because 
he  has  a  natural  vein  of  humor,  and  vivacity 
of  disposition.  My  cliildren  are  not  petulant, 
because  they  never  see  anything  of  the  kind  at 
home,  and  the  little  they  see  abroad,  only  serves 
to  make  them  love  home  quiet  all  the  better." 

"'  But  you  do  not  think  that  all  children  are 
born  alike?" 

"Oh,  no,  by  no  means.  Some  of  the  per- 
ceptive faculties  are  much  stronger  than  others 
in  different  individuals.  I  have  heard  of  a 
person  so  deficient  in  the  organ  of  color,  that 
he  could  riot  tell  green  from  blue,  or  yellow 
from  white.  Yon  seem  surprised,  yet  reflect 
a  moment.  By  candle  light,  you  cannot  do  it. 
yourself.  To  such  a  person,  in  daylight,  the 
same  inability  to  distinguish  the  difference  in 
shades  continues.  Now  it  is  hardly  possible, 
if  those  having  charge  of  that  person  in  child- 
hood, had  taken  constant  pains  to  develop  this 
organ,  that  it  would  not  have  been  improved. 
Many  children  have  the  organ  of  Causality 
constantly  blunted,  and  the  intellect  made 
dull,  by  that  universal  check  —  '  don't  ask  so 


TALK.IXG    WITH    (JlllU)KKN.  109 

many  foolish  questions ',' — put  upon  their  in- 
quiring minds.  Is  it  foolish  for  a  child  to 
inquire  the  cause  of,  what  is  to  him,  a  pheno- 
menon? I  remember  when  a  child,  I  went 
with  my  father,  who  was  one  of  those  men 
who  never  could  bear  to  hear  a  child  ask  ques- 
tions, to  see  a  fountain  play.  The  beautiful  jets 
of  water  spouted  into  the  air,  sixty  feet,  and 
fell  in  silver  and  diamond  sparkling  drops,  all 
around.  My  first  inquiry  was,  'who  makes  it 
play?'  I  was  answered  quite  short,  'nobody, 
you  silly  child.'  'Then,'  said  I,  earnestly, 
'what  makes  it  play?'  I  was  not  kindly 
answered  with  a  short  description  of  the  laws 
that  govern  water,  but  told  not  to  ask  so  many 
foolish  questions.  Do  yon  know  what  I 
thought  then?  If  I  ever  grow  to  be  a  woman, 
I  never  will  tell  a  child  not  to  ask  so  many 
foolish  questions.  Acting  upon  that  impres- 
sion, so  graven  upon  my  heart,as  it  was  burn- 
ing with  desire  to  know  the  cause  of  that 
water  spouting  into  the  air,  I  have  ever  en- 
couraged my  children  to  ask  questions.  I 
have  told  them  there  is  a  cau*e  for  everything. 
Study  to  find  out  that  cause.  Never  say  I 


110  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

don't  know,  I  never  thought  about  that.  I 
teach  them  to  think.  I  make  companions  of 
them.  I  ask  questions  for  them  to  answer. 
For  instance:  one  day  I  saw  Frank  bringing 
some  old  lime  into  the  hen  yard,  and  I  asked 
him  what  that  was  for.  'Because,'  said  he, 
'the  shells  of  eggs  are  principally  composed 
of  lime,'  '  Who  told  you  so  ?'  '  ~No  one ;  I 
read  it  in  a  book,  and  I  said  to  myself,  then 
hens  must  eat  lime  ;  how  else  could  the  shells 
be  formed.  I  did  just  what  you  have  always 
told  me,  mother.  I  argued  from  effect  to 
cause.'  This  was  but  a  trifle  in  itself,  but  it 
taught  me  what  was  the  effect  of  early  train- 
ing upon  a  young  mind.  We  have  always 
tried  to  impress  upon  him  the  good  effect  of 
manly  actions.  We  have  developed  his  natu- 
ral faculties,  without  crowding  his  education 
in  school.  I  have  been  encouraged  in  this 
course  by  an  elder  brother,  the  uncle  Ephraim 
you  hear  Lillie  talk  about.  He  was  here  some 
years  ago,  and  before  he  started  home,  he 
wrote  for  his  son  Charles  to  meet  him  in  Chi- 
cago, on  a  certain  day,  with  his  carriage  and 
horses.  'Why,  Ephraim,'  said  I,  'how  old  is 


EARLY    TRAINING,  111 

Charley  ?'  '  Well,  let  me  see,'  said  lie,  '  this 
is  September,  and  he  was  eight  in  March.' 
'  And  do  yon  expect  him  to  drive  forty  miles 
alone,  and  then,  what  if  he  should  not  meet 
yon.  Something  might  detain  yon.'  He 
replied,  'The  road  is  plain,  he  knows  the  way, 
and  he  will  go  to  the  hotel.  Mr.  Brown  knows 
him,  for  he  has  been  there  with  me.  And  if 
he  didn't,  the  boy  has  a  tongue,  and  can  tell 
him  who  he  is,  and  what  he  is  after.  He  will 
do  well  enough,  depend  upon  it,  sister.  That 
is  the  way  I  train  my  boys.'  The  result 
proved  his  theory  correct.  Charley  went  in, 
and  drove  to  the  hotel,  ordered  his  horses  put 
up,  and  saw  that  they  were  well  taken  care 
of,  too,  and  he  took  good  care  of  himself. 
My  brother  did  not  arrive  for  three  days ;  the 
boat  he  went  around  the  lakes  on,  having  got 
aground,  and  met  with  several  detentions." 

"  I  should  have  thought  Charley  would  have 
been  alarmed  at  his  father's  absence,  or  got 
tired  of  waiting." 

"Not  he.  He  knew  that  his  father  would 
come  when  the  boat  did,  and  in  the  meantime 
he  improved  every  minute.  He  studied  the 


112  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

science  of  ship-building,  fouiid  out  how  the 
workmen  bent  those  great  planks  by  the  aid 
of  steam ;  looked  into  the  steam-engine  shops, 
and  found  somebody  that  was  willing  to  answer 
his  questions,  and  teach  him  how  the  power 
was  obtained  and  controlled.  Then  he  looked 
into  the  founderies,  and  saw  how  cast-iron  was 
formed,  how  machines  were  made,  by  boring, 
drilling,  filing,  polishing,  and  fitting  the  various 
parts  together,  and,  in  short,  my  brother  wrote 
me  'it  was  the  best  three  days'  schooling  the 
boy  ever  had.  I  was  not  at  all  sorry,  after  I 
had  learned  the  result,  that  I  was  detained. 
In  fact,  I  did  not  fret  any,  at  the  time ;  I  knew 
it  was  all  for  the  best,  as  every  such  thing 
always  is,  though  we  are  not  always  able  to 
see  it.' 

"This  also  taught  me  a  lesson.  It  taught 
me  that  children  have  a»natural  desire  to  learn, 
and  that  they  cannot  learn  unless  they  have  a 
teacher.  It  taught  me  that  the  faculties  of  a 
child  may  be  developed  much  younger  than 
is  generally  supposed.  We  have  infant  schools, 
and  all  sorts  of '  institutions,'  to  force  the  facul- 
ties applicable  to  the  ordinary  branches  of 


M IX 1  )-<J  ULT  U  RK.  JL  i  & 

school  studies,  which  are  pushed  }  k  j  plants  in 
a  hot-bed,  or  forcing-house,  to  the  neglect  of 
all  the  qualifications  that  fnake  a  man  or 
woman  of  intellect. 

"There,  now,  I  think  I  have  given  you  a 
sufficiently  long  lecture  upon  the  science  of 
mind  culture."' 

"I  think  I  could  listen  to  just  such  a  one, 
with  profit  arid  pleasure,  every  day,  and  I  hope 
I  shall." 

"There  is  no  telling  wrhat  the  next  may  be 
about.  I  never  premeditate  upon  my  subject. 
Whatever  occurs  at  the  moment,  that  I  think 
I  can  explain,  or  make  use  of  to  teach  those  who 
are  dependent  on  me  for  information,  I  seize 
upon  as  the  basis  of  my  lecture,  if  that  is  a 
proper  term  for  those  little  conversations. 
You  were  going  to  the  garden — I  have  a  little 
work  to  do.  I  saw  a  moth-miller  last  night, 
and  that  is  a  warning  for  me  to  secure  my  furs 
and  woolens.  It  costs  so  little  time  or  money 
to  pack  them  down  in  a  trunk  or  box,  with  a 
little  camphor  gum,  tobacco,  snuff,  cedar 
shavings,  sassaffras,  or  almost  anything  that 
gives  a  strong  odor,  except  musk." 


114  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

"And  why  not  that?" 

"  I  cannot  say.  I  only  know  that  muskrat 
furs  are  just  as  likely  to  be  destroyed  as  any 
other." 

Mrs.  Savery  went  about  her  work  of  saving; 
for  that  is  the  true  economy  of  housekeeping, 
saving  everything — money,  time,  and  that 
which  cost  both — gathering  up  little  fragments 
— doing  what  most  women  call  trifles ;  but, 
though  it  may  seem  trifling  to  them,  it  is  no 
trifle  to  their  husbands,  in  the  footing  up  of 
the  year's  accounts. 

Salinda  went  to  fulfill  her  promise  to  Frank, 
to  water  and  feed  his  hens.  Susan  went  with 
her,  and  that  she  might  not  feel  as  though  she 
was  losing  any  time,  Salinda  was  to  help  her 
wash  the  dishes.  "  But,"  says  she,  "  had  we 
not  better  do  that  first  ?" 

"  No,  because  Frank  is  very  regular  in  his 
practice  of  feeding  and  watering  his  hens  in 
the  middle  of  the  day;  and  habit  with  them  is 
as  strong  as  with  us.  They  are  looking  for  it." 

Salinda  found  the  same  economy  of  space 
here  as  elsewhere.  A  strip  five  feet  wide 
across  the  end  of  the  lot  was  occupied  by  the 


THE   HKN-HOr8E.  115 

poultry  yard,  poultry  house,  tool  house,  and 
the  temple  of  Oloacina. 

The  latter  bore  a  most  striking  contrast  to 
most  of  these  necessary  appendages  to  every 
house.  A  barrel  of  plaster  of  Paris  stood  in 
one  corner,  with  a  little  tin  dipper,  and  it  was 
the  invariable  rule  of  every  occupant  of  the 
place,  to  scatter  into  the  vault  a  little  of  the 
plaster,  which  absorbed  all  the  ammonia, 
keeping  the  place  sweet,  and  rendering  the 
monthly  task  of  emptying  the  contents  into 
the  compost  bed,  neither  unpleasant  nor  unpro- 
fitable. That  compost  bed  was  a  tight  vat, 
occupying  the  room  under  the  hen-house,  and 
in  summer  received  all  the  fertilizing  liquids 
from  the  house,  as  well  as  every  other  scrap 
of  waste,  which  not  only  kept  the  garden 
rich,  but  afforded  a  surplus  which  was  readily 
purchased  and  pumped  out  every  week,  by  a 
market  gardener  in  the  neighborhood.  In 
the  corner  appropriated  as  a  hen  yard,  stood  a 
large  plum  tree,  that  never  failed  to  "Dear  a 
full  crop,  because  the  hens  prevented  the 
ravages  of  the  curculio.  Starting  near  the 
compost  tank,  from  which  the  roots  drew  sus- 


116  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

tenance,  were  two  grape  vines;  a  Oatawba 
and  an  Isabella,  which  were  trained  each  way 
along  the  building  and  fence  for  a  hundred 
feet ;  these  afforded  all  the  grapes,  and  many 
more  than  the  family  wanted,  and,  as  Mr. 
Savery  said,  cost  no  room  of  earth  or  air. 

Over  the  hen-house  was  the  aviary  ;  and  on 
top  of  the  little  room  used  to  store  the  tools, 
the  lime,  plaster,  empty  beehives,  &c.  &c., 
grew  'the  famous  water-melons.  The  whole 
of  these  buildings  were  screened  from  full 
view  of  the  house  by  a  row  of  quince,  currant, 
gooseberry,  and  rose-bushes.  Then  came  the 
strawberry  bed,  with  the  vines  shooting  through 
the  covering  of  tan  bark,  which  not  only  serves 
as  the  best  manure,  but  keeps  the  fruit  clean. 
All  the  vegetables  and  bushes  seemed  to  be 
arranged  so  as  to  economize  room,  and  make  a 
little  spot  of  ground  produce  a  great  deal  of 
food.  Next  to  the  house  was  the  grass-plat, 
and  in  the  centre  of  that  stood  a  half  barrel 
tub,  filled  with  earth,  and  planted  with  cucum- 
bers. Half  the  vines  will  climb  a  bush,  and 
the  other  half  fall  down  upon  the  grass,  but 
are  not  allowed  to  run  far. 


MORE   OF   THE   YARD    AND    GART>EN.        117 

Salinda  could  not  help  thinking  how  much 
land  in  and  around  all  cities  is  wasted — left 
barren  and  worthless,  that  might  be  made  to 
bear  rich  products  of  human  food,  like  this 
little  plat.  She  noticed  that  even  the  earth  in 
the  cucumber  tub  was  not  alloAved  to  remain 
idle  while  waiting  for  the  proper  time  to  re- 
ceive the  seed,  and  while  they  were  vegetating, 
but  it  was  made  to  produce  a  crop  of  early 
radishes.  She  did  not  know,  but  Mr.  Savery 
did,  that  this  productiveness  was  owing  to  his 
liquid  manure,  and  other  frequent  waterings 
which  he  gave  the  whole  ground,  with  a  cheap 
hand  force-pump  and  hose,  with  a  rose  nozzle, 
which  Frank  guided  while  his  father  worked 
the  pump. 

"  I  should  really  like  to  know  where  your 
cistern  is.  There  is  but  one  pump,  and  that  is 
at  the  well." 

"And  yet  jt  draws  well  or  cistern  water  at 
your  option.  Yon  have  only  to  turn  this  cock 
this  way,  and  that  one  this  way,  and  now  it 
will  pump  well  water.  Change  them  back 
again,  and  you  draw  water  from  the  cistern, 
which  is  under  the  grass-plat.  Last  summer 


.     ECONOMY  IUA<M:A  ;:  ;>. 

it  got  so  low  after  being  cleaned  out  in  the 
spring,  that  we  had  to  use  ley  from  the  ash 
leach,  to  make  the  well  water  soft  enough  to 
wash  with.  But  after  all,  there  is  nothing  like 
good  filtered  rain  water  for  every  purpose.  It 
is  great  economy  to  build  a  cistern,  and  adds 
greatly  to  the  comfort  of  those  who  have  to  do 
the  housework.  Speaking  of  the  cistern  re- 
minds me  that  I  have  got  some  dishes  to 
wash." 

"  And  I  am  to  help  you — that  is,  I  should 
like  to  learn  what  there  is  for  me  to  learn  in 
that  branch  of  domestic  economy,  if  you  are 
willing,  Susan." 

"  Certainly.  Well,  here  is  one  thing  for  you 
to  learn.  Never  put  ivory  knife-handles  into 
warm  water.  I  use  this  double  tin  can.  This 
for  the  knives,  that  for  the  forks." 

It  was  like  two  quart  measures*  soldered  to- 
gether. One  had  an  extra  bottom,  that  left 
the  water  just  deep  enough  for  the  dinner 
knives,  and  the  other  for  the  forks,  when  filled 

*  There  are  cans  made  on  purpose  with  bars  like  a  gridiron,  so  closs 
that  the  handles  cannot  go  through,  while  the  blades  remain  in  the 
water.  Susan's  was  more  primitive  anJ  less  expensive. 


WASHING    DISHES. 

near  the  top.  For  the  tea  knives  it  was  not  so 
full — the  can  being  connected,  made  the  water 
always  of  the  same  relative  height.  "  If  the 
handles  get  soiled  so  that  I  cannot  wipe  them 
clean,''  said  Susan,  "  I  use  a  piece  of  fine  sand- 
paper/' 

"  Do  yon  use  soap  in  your  dish  water  ?" 

"  Seldom.  That  stone  pot  is  full  of  ley.  If 
I  have  a  very  greasy  dish,  that  hot  water  will 
not  clean,  I  dip  it  in  that  ley,  and  thus  make 
the  grease  into  soap.  It  is  a  small  matter,  but 
it  saves  many  a  sixpence  in  a  year.  When 
-the  ley  gets  greasy,  I  empty  it  in  a  tub  where 
I  keep  ley,  to  eat  up  all  the  grease  and  bones 
that  would  otherwise  be  wasted,  or  get  mouldy 
or  fly -blown,  if  kept  long  enough  to  boil  up 
for  soap.  Sometimes  it  makes  itself  into  ex- 
cellent soap,  without  one  bit  of  trouble." 

"  Now,  shall  I  wipe  the  plates  as  you  wash 
them?" 

"  Not  yet.  I  wash  them  in  this  pan,  and 
set  them  in  that  to  drain.  Then  I  rinse  them 
off  with  boiling  water — so — now  yon  may  wipe 
them,  while  I  wipe  the  knives.  Now  pour 
that  water  in  this  pan,  and  I  will  wash  those 


120  ECONOMY    II.LUSTBATKD. 

larger  dishes.  It  is  not  an  unpleasant  job,  nor 
is  it  hard  work  to  wash  dishes,  if  rightly  done  ; 
and  I  have  not  broken  anything  for  years." 

"  What  are  yon  boiling  the  teakettle  for, 
Susan  ?" 

"For  tea.  It  is  so  warm  that  I  shall  not 
want  any  tire  in  the  range  this  afternoon — 
with  what  heat  there  is,  that  water  will  keep 
almost  as  hot  as  boiling  till  night.  Then  I 
take  a  handful  of  charcoal,  and  kindle  it  in 
this  little  portable  furnace,  and  that  saves  a 
peck  of  coal;  as  the  furnace  will  boil  my 
water,  and  boil  my  tea,  and  make  a  bit  of  toast 
if  I  wish." 

"  Do  you  boil  tea?" 

"  Black  tea  is  very  much  improved  by  being 
boiled  at  least  fifteen  minutes.  It  changes 
the  flavor  entirely." 

"  I  never  heard  of  that  before.  And  is  it 
more  economical — that  is,  does  it  take  less  tea 
to  serve  the  family  ?" 

"At  least  twenty-five  per  cent.  That  you 
may  be  convinced  of  the  difference  in  flavor, 
strength,  economy,  everything,  I  will  divide 
my  usual  measure — I  always  make  by  a  uni- 


MAKING   TEA.  121 

form  measure — and  give  one-half  made  in  the 
usual  way  of  pouring  boiling  water  on  the 
leaves  in  the  pot,  and  the  other  I  will  boil 
half  an  hour." 

The  result  will  be  known  by  listening  to  the 
following  tea-table  talk  in  the  next  chapter. 


122  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 


CHAPTER    IY. 

Something  the  matter  with  the  Tea.  What  is  it?  The 
properties  of  Tea.  The  difference  proved.  Lillie'a  Mar- 
ims  of  Life. 

"  NY  HAT  is  the  matter  with  your  tea,  Susan?" 
said  Mr.  Savery,  at  the  first  sip.  "  I  am  very 
fond  of  a  good  cup  of  black  tea,  and  if  not 
taken  very  warm,  and  only  moderately  strong, 
with  sugar  and  milk,  I  think  it  not  only  plea- 
santly invigorating,  but  quite  healthy.  Liebig, 
I  think  it  is,  says  that  tea  contains  nutritious 
qualities.  It  is  certainly  strengthening  and 
invigorating.  It  possesses  stimulating  and 
narcotic  principles  that  do  not  agree  with  per- 
sons of  hypochondriacal  habits,  or  weak  nervee. 
From  30  to  40  per  cent,  of  tea  is  soluble  in 
water.  And  a  trifle  larger  proportion  is  solu- 
ble in  alcohol.  Tea  contains  considerable 
tannin  ;  a  trace  of  volatile  oil ;  and  the  pecu- 
liar flavor  is  contained  in  a  resinous  substance. 
This  is  much  easier  dissolved  in  some  varieties 
than  others." 


WHAT    IS    IT  ?  !i>.'} 

"And  hence  the  necessity,"  said  Mrs.  Save- 
ry, "  in  making"  black  tea  that  the  infusion 
should  stand  and  boil  some  minutes  ;  which  I 
perceive  Susan  has  somehow  neglected  to- 
night," 

"No,  not  neglected,"  said  Salinda,  "it  has 
been  purposely  done,  .to  teach  me  the  differ- 
ence. Come  in,  Susan,  with  the  other.  You 
need  not  stand  there  laughing  af,  mv  ignorance, 

O  O  *'         O 

or  how  easy  you  have  convinced  me  of  my 
error." 

"  To  remove  old  prejudices,"  said  Susan,  as 
she  changed  the  ,tea-pot,  "particularly  any- 
thing relating  to  our  accustomed  food,  requires 
strong  evidence  that  the  proposed  innovation 
upon  old  customs  is  really  an  improvement 
Mr.  Savery,  let  me  change  your  cup.  And 
you,  Salinda,  will,  as  readily  as  he  does,  see  the 
difference  in  flavor." 

"  And  economy,  too,"  said  Mrs.  Savery. 
•"  You  make  that  quite  a  yearly  item.  This 
we  are  indebted  for  to  Uncle  Ephraim  ;  and  I 
remember  that  we  all  thought  it  was  one  of 
his  odd  notions,  but  he  took  the  same  course 
to  convince  us  that  Susan  has  you,  Salinda. 


12i  ECOJSOMY     ILLL»TKATK1>. 

We  are  not  aware  ourselves,  brow  wedded  we 
are  to  habit  in  our  eating  and  drinking." 

"  That  is  true,  wife.     Just  look  at  the  ridi- 
cule that  has  been  heaped  upon  those  who  ad- 
vocate  a   vegetable   diet.     They   have   been 
called  bran-bread  philosophers — advocates  of 
feeding  workinginen   upon   sawdust;   and   a 
thousand  other  slanders ;    when,  in  fact,  all 
they  recommend  is  that  men  should  act  ration- 
ally in  adapting  the  proper  food  to  the  various 
conditions  of  men.     They  simply  say,  that  it 
is  not  necessary  for  the  health  of  \vomen  and 
children,  and  persons  of  sedentary  habits,  to 
eat  the  same  fat  pork  diet  of  a  hard-working 
farmer.     "We  are,  as  you  perceive,  no  vegeta- 
rians, yot  we  must  allow  that  the  advocates 
of  that  system  have  a  great  deal  of  reason  and 
common   sense   in  their  arguments.     It  is  a 
pretty  well  settled  fact  in  philosophy,  that  the 
consumers  of  swine's  flesh,  generation  after 
generation,  will  at  length  come  to  partake  in 
some  degree  of  the  nature  of  the  animal  whose 
flesh  they  have  fed  upon.     Many  physicians 
are  of  opinion  that  pork  is  the  cause  of  scrof- 
ula.    We  cannot  dispute  the  fact,  that  none 


THE   USE   OF   TOBACCO.  125 

but  hard  laborers,  who  are  much  in  the  open 
air,  can  consume  large  quantities  of  gross  food, 
and  maintain  good  health.  But  it  is  very  hard 
to  break  people  of  long  indulged  in  gross 
habits  of  any  kind.  There  is  not  a  rum-drink- 
er, rum-maker,  or  rumseller,  in  the  world,  that 
does  not  know  the  evil  effects  of  taking  alco- 
hol into  the  stomach ;  yet  one  persists  in  the 
manufacture  and  sale,  because  it  affords  him 
an  easy  profit,  and  the  other  continues  its  use, 
because  it  produces  exhilaration  or  stupefac- 
tion ;  or  else  gives  strength,  or  courage  to  do 
some  act  of  desperation,  of  folly,  or  wicked- 
ness." 

"  You  are  severe  on  gross  eaters  and  hard 
drinkers,  sir ;  pray,  what  is  your  opinion  of 
the  use  of  tobacco  ?" 

"  That,  waving  all  argument  about  its  poison- 
ous effects  and  unhealthiness,  the  use  of  it  is 
so  positively  filthy,  whether  chewed,  snuffed, 
or  smoked,  that  no  well-bred  gentleman  or 
lady  can  use  it,  or  sanction  its  use,  or  what  is 
still  more,  encourage  friends  to  get  accustomed 
to  a  practice  that  enslaves  them  through  life. 
But  c  Dine,  let  us  adjourn  to  the  sitting-room. 


126  ECONOMY    ILLUSTKATKD. 

and  see  what  Lillie  has  to  read  to  us — this  is 
the  end  of  her  school  week,  when  she  furnishes 
us  a  composition,  or  some  collation  of  facts 
gathered  during  the  week.  What  have  yon 
to-night,  my  daughter?" 

"  At  my  mother's  suggestion,  I  have  made 
an  excerpta  of  passages  and  sentiments  from 
several  authors  upon  the  subject  of  domestic 
economy.' 

"  That  probably  is  intended  for  your  benefit,, 
Salinda." 

"Then  I  shall  give  my  careful  attention  to 
its  teachings-.  Will  you  read,  Lillie.  I  hope 
your  father  and  mother  will  give  us  running 
comments." 

"  Catharine  E.  Beecher  says  : 

"  In  regard  to  the  subject  of  health,  mothers  and  teachers 
— [she  might  have  added  children] — never  had  the  facilities 
afforded  for  gaining  the  knowledge  they  needed.  It  is 
painful,  after  years  of  toil  and  anxiety,  to  discover,  that  in 
some  important  respects,  mistakes  hare  been  made  which 
have  entailed  suffering  and  sorrow  on  ourselves  and  the  ob- 
jects of  our  care. 

"  No  American  woman  has  any  occasion  for  feeling  that 
hers  is  an  humble  or  insignificant  lot. 

"  Persons  in  poverty  to-day,  may  rise  to  affluence  to- 


CAUSES    OF  '  ILL    HEALTH.  127 

morrow  Children  of  common  laborers  may  rise  to  wealth 
and  station,  while  their  wealthy  neighbors' children,  through 
long  enervating  indulgence,  sink  down  to  the  lowest  station 
in  life. 

"  Were  it  not  for  the  supply  of  poverty-stricken  foreign- 
ers, there  would  be  a  dearth  of  domestics  in  every  family."" 

"  That,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  is  because  we 
rear  our  own  children  to  look  upon  all  labor 
with  contempt — that  the  garb  of  an  honest 
workman  is  a  disgrace.  But  go  on." 

"  There  is  nothing  that  so  demands  system  and  regularity 
as  the  affairs  of  a  housekeeper,  and  the  want  of  success, 
through  ill  health  and  inability  to  attend  to  the  duties,  are 
causes  of  great  anxiety  and  perplexity. 

"Women  in  this  country  are  unusually  subject  to  disease, 
through  delicacy  of  constitution. 

"Curvature  of  the  spine  is  a  prevalent  complaint  with 
the  daughters  of  the  rich." 

"  Much  of  which  is  owing  to  their  enervat- 
ing habits — lounging  on  sofas  and  cushioned 
chairs — never  going  out  in  the  air,  except  in 
a  cushioned  carriage — never  in  fact  taking  any 
exercise  that  stirs  the  blood,  except  perhaps  a 
health-destroying  midnight  dance  ;  and  avoid- 
ing cold  water  as  they  would  the  plague.  It 


128  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

is  such  a  life  that  makes  feeble,  puny  girls, 
and  sickly  mothers,  who  prematurely  blossom, 
bear  early,  sickly  fruit,  wither  and  die.  'Tis 
a  sad  picture,  but  it  is  truly  American." 

"Why,  Mr.  Savery,  your  chairs  are  all 
cushioned,  even  those  in  the  dining-room, 
.which  is  quite  unusual." 

"  Only  cushioned  in  the  seat.  That  is  eco- 
-nomy.  It  is  not  like  a  chair  with  a  stuffed 
back,  that  shuts  out  all  circulation  of  air  from 
the  body.  These  plain,  hard  seat  cushions 
save  much  wear  of  clothing,  and  should  be 
used  at  the  table,  of  all  other  places,  where 
all  should  sit  at  their  ease.  Go  on,  Lillie." 

"  Medical  men  all  tell  us  that  this  constitutional  debility 
results  from  mismanagement  in  early  life. 

"  Mental  excitement,  without  exercise,  tends  to  weaken 
the  system." 

"  Don't  imagine,"  said  Lillie,  as  she  saw 
Salinda  pick  up  Miss  Beecher's  Domestic  Eco- 
nomy, "  that  I  make  literal  quotations.  I  am 
rather  sifting  out  facts,  which  I  express,  or  try 
to,  in  short  hand." 

"  You  are  very  successful,  and  I  am  deeply 
interested." 


PREMATURE    DECAY.  129 

"American  women,  from  various  causes,  are  exposed  to 
a  far  greater  amount  of  intellectual  excitement  than  those 
of  any  other  land,  with  far  less  walking,  riding,  gardening, 
or  exposure  to  the  open  air,  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  European 
women. 

"  American  girls  go  from  school  to  visiting,  dressing, 
evening  parties,  balls,  or  amusements,  in  close  hot  rooms  ; 
morning  calls  and  midday  shopping,  in  ridiculously  un- 
healthy modes  of  dress,  and  then  eat  gormandizing  dinners, 
till  they  have  to  lay  down  exhausted,  to  read  the  last  novel. 

':  At  fifteen  they  marry — at  thirty  they  are  faded,  worn, 
haggard,  and  discontented  with  all  the  world,  to  think  they 
have  lost  their  beauty/' 

"  Is  it  any  wonder,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  that 
aucli  girls  become  mothers  of  puny  children, 
or  that  such  a  large  proportion  of  all  the 
deaths  that  occur  in  cities  are  among  those 
under  ten  years  of  age  !  We  listen,  Lillie." 

"  Many,  in  fact  most,  wealthy  ladies  would  think  a  walk 
of  a  mile,  three  or  four  times  a  week,  would  be  a  killing 
amount  of  exercise. 

"  Girls  should  never  be  sent  to  school  till  six  years  old, 
and  then  the  physical  rather  than  the  intellectual  cultiva- 
tion should  be  attended  to.  Children  should  frequently  be 
sent  out  to  play.  The  air  in  a  school  room  should  never  be 
overheated,  or  suffered  to  get  impure.  Crowded  rooms  and 
salamander  stoves,  are  the  curse  of  American  school-rooms. 

"  A  girl  from  six  to  tf:n  years  eld  should  be  taught  to  do 

G* 


l.°>0  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

many  things  about  a  house,  so  as  to  acquire  active  habits, 
and  learn  that  labor  in  any  household  duty  is  not  degrading. 

"  Where  there  are  several  daughters  in  the  house,  they 
should  go  by  turns  to  the  kitchen,  while  all  the  light  work 
should  be  done  by  the  others, 

"  Every  branch  of  domestic  economy  should  be  taught  in 
all  female  seminaries. 

"  Healthful  exercise  gives  rosy  cheeks,  rounded  form  and 
delicate  skin. 

'•  There  is  no  period  in  life  when  a  young  lady  will  not 
find  a  knowledge  of  domestic  economy  useful  to  herself  and 
others.  The  mere  knowledge  of  how  to  remove  a  grease 
spot,  may  confer  happiness  for  the  moment  upon  herself  and 
some  friend. 

<;  Every  girl  should  be  trained  to  have  some  knowledge 
of  the  laws  of  health,  and  how  to  take  care  of  the  sick." 

"  She  should  also  know  how  to  prevent,  in 
a  great  measure,  her  children  from  getting 
sick,  by  indulgence  in  unwholesome  food. 
However,  I  won't  interrupt  you,"  said  Mrs. 
Savery. 

"  Those  persons  who  keep  their  bodies  in  a  state  of  health 
by  sufficient  exercise,  have  a  sure  guide  of  what  they  should 
eat. 

"  Many  women  are  so  inactive,  they  never  feel  hungry  ; 
and  only  eat  at  stated  times,  through  habit,  or  for  pastime. 

"  Hence  the  necessity  of  inducing  appetite  by  tempting 
viands,  and  a  variety  of  high  seasoned  dishes.  By  tasting 


GLUTTONY.  131 

of  this  and  that,  she  loads  her  stomach  with  more  than  a 
hodman  could  well  digest. 

"  Health  depends  on  quality  as  well  as  quantity  of  food. 
Some  things  are  naturally  pernicious,  and  some  are  made 
so  by  cooking  and  combination  with  others. 

"  Condiments,  such  as  pepper,  spice,  mustard,  vinegar, 
salt.  £c.,  are  never  needed  in  a  healthy  stomach.  In  case 
of  stimulants  being  needed,  such  things  may  be  used." 

"  Don't  you  think,"  said  Salinda,  "  that  salt 
is  necessary ?" 

"  ~No  more,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  than  any  of 
the  other  stimulants.  If  we  eat  less  salt,  we 
should  drink  less,  and  the  world  would  be 
saved  from  the  disgrace  of  drunkenness.  We 
are  so  accustomed  to  the  use  of  salt,  that  we 
never  stop  to  inquire  whether  it  is  really  use- 
ful or  necessary,  or  beneficial  or  otherwise. 
But  we  won't  stop  to  discuss  this  question  now. 
It  is  enough  for  the  present  purpose  that  it 
shall  induce  you  to  think  and  inquire  for  your- 
self. We  listen,  Lillie." 

"  There  are  more  gluttons  than  drunkards  in  America — 
that  is,  perrons  who  injure  themselves  by  eating." 

"That  is  very  true,"  said  Mrs.  Savery. 
"  Only  last  month  a  young  lady-friend  of  ours 


132  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

that  had  suffered  for  a  long  time  with  ill 
health,  and  loss  of  appetite,  took  a  notion  that 
she  must  have  some  hard  clams,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  day  she  ate  several  dozen ;  some 
raw  and  some  cooked,  as  people  generally 
cook  them — that  is,  nothing  but  warmed — not 
cooked  at  all — and  in  the  evening  she  was 
taken  with  spasms,  and  came  near  losing  her 
life.  The  stomach  was  paralyzed,  as  bad  as 
though  she  had  swallowed  so  many  leaden 
bullets.  Many  a  life  is  destroyed  by  impru- 
dence in  eating. 

"  I  have  a  sentence  that  I  have  extracted 
from  one  of  my  books,  just  in  point  to  your 
remark,  mother.  This  is  it : 

•' A  perfectly  healthy  stomach  can  digest  almost  any 
healthful  food';  but  when  the  digestive  powers  are  weak, 
what  is  food  for  one,  would  be  poison  to  another." 

"  You  know  Virginia  had  been  suffering  a 
long  time  with  dyspepsia.  Perhaps,  too,  she 
did  not  chew  her  food  sufficiently,  for  my 
books  tell  me  that  'it  is  indispensable  that 
food  be  taken  slowly  and  well  chewed,  or  it 
will  not  digest.  Kice,  potatoes,  when  dry  and 


PROPER    FOOD    FOR    EACH    MEAL.  13u 

well  cooked,  flour,  Indian  corn,  tender  meats, 
or  meats  minced  fine,  are  easiest  of  digestion. 
Tough  beef,  fat  bacon,  unripe  fruit,  wilted 
vegetables,  rancid  butter,  short  pie-crust,  hot 
short  cakes,  and  many  articles  of  mixed  food, 
will  in  time  destroy  the  powers  of  an  ostrich- 
like  stomach,  in  any  human  being  that  does 
not  take  violent  exercise  in  the  open  air. 
After  every  meal,  a  person  should  rest  a  little 
while,  to  allow  the  gastric  juice  time  to  incor- 
porate itself  with  the  contents  of  the  stomach.' ': 
"  That  is  the  very  reason,"  said  Mr.  Savery, 
"  why  we  practice  sitting  at  the  table  in  con- 
versation after  we  have  done  eating.  It  is  not 
time  lost." 

"  The  food  of  our  meals  should  be  properly  apportioned 
to  the  wants  of  the  body.  At  breakfast  we  need  drinks, 
and  should  eat  fruit,  and  light  vegetable  food,  with  but  little 
meat.  That  good  old-fashioned  dish  of  hash — a  little  meat 
and  potatoes,  with  a  flour  gravy,  is  an  excellent  breakfast 
dish.  But  we  do  not  eat  fruit  enough,  and  the  eating  of 
hearty  meats,  often  too,  cooked  by  frying,  is  a  national  sin 
of  this  country. 

"  Dinner  should  be  taken  near  the  middle  of  the  day,  and 
may  be  a  hearty  one,  if  the  proper  amount  of  exercise  has 
been  had  in  the  forenoon,  and  labor  is  to  be  performed  in 


134  ECONOMY 


the  afternoon.  After  dinner,  spend  an  hour  in  conversa- 
tion, reading,  or  light  work,  before  you  resume  the  regular 
employment  of  the  day,  and  you  will  accomplish  more  be- 
fore night,  with  less  exhaustion. 

"  Look  for  an  example  lo  the  sous  of  toil  in  the  harvest 
field.  Their  '  nooning  '  is  true  economy. 

"  The  true  temperature  for  all  kinds  of  food  and  drink, 
is  blood  warm.  Sipping  hot  tea  is  dissipation.  Drinking 
ice  water,  except  in  little  sips,  to  act  as  a  tonic,  is  folly. 
The  health  of  many  a  stomach  has  been  ruined  by  eating  au 
excessive  quantity  of  ice  cream.  One  table  spoonful  should 
be  a  full  allowance. 

"  When  the  body  is  hot  and  exhausted,  bathe  the  hands  and 
feet  and  face  in  cold  water,  and  drink  something  hot.  A 
little  sweetened  water,  gingered,  is  excellent.  After  re- 
storing the  tone  of  the  body  to  its  natural  condition,*you 
may  have  a  pleasant,  healthful  tonic,  in  a  glass  of  ice  watyr. 

"  The  temptation  to  use  stimulating  drinks,  is  their  present 
agreeable  stimulating  effect.  But  with  every  indulgence, 
the  power  to  produce  that  sensation  diminishes,  until  at 
length  the  stomach  becomes  so  accustomed  to  their  use.  it 
would  take  a  whole  Niagara  of  rum  to  produce  the  sensation 
caused  by  the  first  glass." 

"  Why,  Lillie,"  said  Mrs.  Savery,  "  are  those 
extracts  from  books  yon  have  been  reading?" 

"  Not  altogether.  You  and  father  have 
always  told  rne  to  read  books  to  get  ideas.  I 
extract  sentiments,  and  add  reflections.  '  "What 


STIMULANTS    AM)    OONUIMKNTS.  fiX) 

I  read,  sometimes  serves  as  a  text  for  a  sermon 
I  preach  to  myself.  Is  there  anything  wrong 
in  what  I  have  read,  or  in  giving  the  ideas  of 
others  in  my  own  words  ?" 

"  Not  exactly.  I  thought  that  expression 
about  a  Niagara  of  rum,  sounded  a  little  ex- 
travagant ;  and  I  understood  you  that  you  had 
been  selecting  passages  from  Miss  Beecher's 
work,  and  I  did  not  recollect  anything  like  it. 
It  sounds  a  good  deal  more  like  one  of  .Henry 
"Ward  Beecher's  strong  similes.  Bead  on." 

"Those  who  use  stimulating  drinks,  argue  that  the  taste 
is  a  natural  one,  and  call  savages  and  even  animals  for  wit- 
nesses, and  therefore  claim  that  it  is  right  to  indulge  the 
taste  ;  else,  they  say,  why  did  God  implant  it  in  our  nature. 
The  murderer  might  just  as  well  argue  that  to  kill  was  no 
sin.  because  he  has  a  natural  propensity  for  blood. 

"  Stimulants  were  created  for  medicine,  to  cure  diseases, 
not  create  them.  There  is  not  a  doubt  that  coffee,  and  in 
some  measure  tea,  taken  in  extravagant  quantities  as  they 
are  in  this  country,  cause  much  of  the  nervous  diseases  that 
affect  females,  and  all  persons  of  natural  delicate  constitu- 
tions. 

"  Water  is  the  only  safe  drink.  Sugar  and  juice  of  fruits, 
slightly  acid,  may  be  safely  added.  We  all  drink  too  much. 
It  is  only  a  habit ;  it  is  not  necessary.  Children  in  school 
should  not  be  allowed  the  idle  habit  of  continually  running 


136  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

out  for  a  drink.  If  they  are  dry,  they  should  be  told  the 
cause  of  it,  and  a  slight  punishment  of  thirst  for  eating  salt 
to  excess,  will  not  hurt  them.  It  may  teach  them  to  eat 
less.  Some  persons  are  constantly  eating  cloves,  cinnamon, 
mace,  orange  peel,  or  some  other  spicy  thing,  which  only 
serves  to  create  thirst.  No  condiment  with  food  can  possi- 
bly do  any  good.  If  it  stimulates  the  appetite  to  eat  more, 
that  is  not  beneficial.  A  person  will  soon  get  so  he  cannot 
eat  without  some  stimulant. 

"  In  this  country  the  bulk  of  our  food  is  of  a  stimulating 
nature.  AVe  consume  a  vast  amount  of  meat.  It  is  neither 
economical  or  healthy.  Dyspepsia  prevails  here  to  a  greater 
extent  than  in  any  other  civilized  country.  Savages,  owing 
to  their  nature  and  modes  of  life,  and  exposure  of  the  whole 
body  to  the  atmosphere,  can  eat  meat,  even  whale  blubber, 
with  impunity.  We  must  mix  crude  vegetables  with  our 
meat  and  fine  flour.  Of  the  latter  we  eat  too  much.  If 
two-thirds  of  our  wheat  was  eaten  unbolted,  we  should 
enjoy  better  health.  At  one  time  the  army  bread  of  Eng- 
land was  all  made  of  unbolted  wheat,  and  the  soldiers  never 
were  so  robust  and  healthy  before  or  since.  Those  who  use 
wheat  grits,  that  is  cracked  wheat,  are  never  constipated  in 
the  bowels.  Oat  meal  is  equally  beneficial.  It  makes  very 
pleasant,  healthy  bread.  It  is  mostly  eaten  in  gruel,  or  oat 
meal  porridge. 

"There  is  a  great  lack  of  economy  in  most  families  in 
clothing  ;  and  it  is  not  at  all  uncommon  that  health  and 
life  are  sacrificed  to  Moloch  by  fond  mothers,  through  the 
folly  of  pride  to  follow  the  fashion  of  dress. 

"  The  rule  should  be  to  cover  the  body,  particularly  of 


FOLLY   IN   FOOD   AND   DRESS.  13  T 

children,  so  as  to  keep  it  just  warm  without  inducing  per- 
spiration. Children  often  throw  off  their  night  covering, 
because  too  warm,  and  then  suffer  from  exposure.  This 
may  be  guarded  against  by  using  night  gowns,  and  never 
covering  them  too  warm  at  first. 

"  One  person  requires  more  clothes  than  another,  yet  all 
dress  nearly  alike.  Women  need  thicker  clothing  than 
men,  as  a  general  thing,  yet  they  almost  always  dress  much 
thinner.  Unless  they  wear  rubbers  over  their  shoes,  their 
feet  are  as  unprotected  from  damp  or  cold,  as  though  en- 
tirely bare.  They  go  out  bare-footed,  bare-headed,  bare- 
necked, bare-armed,  carrying  a  dragging  weight  of  sweat 
cloths  suspended  from  the  hips. 

"  Such  is  woman's  winter  fashion. 

"  Men,  not  only  in  winter,  but  in  broiling  August,  encase 
themselves  in  thick,  solid  patent-leather  boots,  impervious 
to  air  more  than  water,  and  black  coat,  vest  and  pantaloons, 
with  a  dozen  folds  of  cloth  around  the  neck,  the  whole 
topped  off  with  a  black  hat,  as  stiff  as  a  stove-pipe,  imper- 
vious to  air,  and  spoiled  by  the  first  dash  of  rain. 

"  Such  is  the  economy  of  fashion. 

"  One  of  the  most  healthy  practices  is  to  wear  flannel  next 
the  skin.  It  is  a  bad  conductor  of  heat,  and  keeps  the  body 
warm.  Black  should  never  be  worn  in  the  sun  in  hot 
weather,  because  it  conducts  the  heat  to  the  body. 

"  Whatever  is  worn  next  the  skin  should  be  often  changed. 
Cleanliness  promotes  health.   All  dresses  for  men,  or  women, 
or  children,  should  be  worn  loose.    Clothing  should  always  ', 
be  adapted  to  the  occupation  of  the  wearer,  and  colors 
always  plain  and  suited  to  age.  sex  or  complexion.      How 


138  ECONOMY    ILLUSTKATKD. 

would  the  minister  look  with  a  yellow  coat,  or  his  wife  with 
n  red  gown. 

"  One  of  the  domestic  virtues  of  rural  life  is  early  rising. 
In  cities  there  is  a  certain  degree  of  snobbishness  that  af- 
fects late  hours  at  everything.  These  persons  are  late  at 
church,  late  at  meals,  late  to  bed,  and  very  late  in  getting 
out  of  it.  It  is  impossible  for  such  a  late  family  to  be 
healthy,  and  if  engaged  in  business  they  are  rarely  prosper- 
ous. Laying  in  bed  till  the  sun  is  two  or  three  hours  high, 
is  very  poor  economy.  It  is  poor  economy  to  sleep  by  day- 
light and  work  or  read  by  lamplight.  No  living  thing 
flourishes  healthily  in  darkness  or  artificial  light,  except 
sleeping. 

"  The  fashion  of  dining  after  dark,  and  supping  at  mid- 
night, and  going  to  bed  in  the  morning,  is  one  that  demo- 
cratic Americans,  who  pretend  to  despise  everything  for- 
eign and  aristocratic,  should  utterly  repudiate. 
* 

"  Without  a  good  reason,  it  should  be  held  as  a  mark  of  a 

want  of  respectability  in  any  woman  to  be  out  of  bed  at 
midnight. 

"  The  unhealthiness  of  the  night  air  in  malarious  regions, 
is  such  that  it  cannot  be  breathed  with  impunity  in  the 
night  time.  This  fact  is  so  well  understood  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Charleston,  Sonth  Carolina,  that  night  trains  upon 
the  railroad  are  avoided.  I  have  known  a  whole  «ar  load 
of  passengers  all  sick  while  coming  over  the  fifty  miles  of 
miasmatic  country  north  of  that  city,  in  summer. 

"  All  persons  require  six  to  eight  hours  sleep,  and  there  is 
no  better  time  the  year  through  to  take  that,  than  between 
nine  in  the  evening  and  four  or  five  in  the  morning. 


LATE   HOU14S. 

"All  long-lived  people  arc  habitual  early  riseiv.  We 
can,  if  accustomed  to  it,  perform  more  labor  early  in  the 
morning,  than  at  any  other  period.  No  mother,  or  mistress 
of  a  family,  should  ask  her  children  or  hired  help  to  get  up 
hours  before  she  does  herself.  Let  her  own  example  be  a 
good  one. 

"  There  is  no  economy  in  late  hours  in  bed. 

"  The  health  of  many  a  person — women  in  particular — has 
been  ruined  for  want  of  judicious  exercise.  Half  the  cases 
of  dyspepsia,  crooked  spine,  and  nervous  debility,  come 
from  want  of  exercise.  But  exercise  should  always  have  an 
interest  for  the  mind.  Walking  merely  for  the  exercise  of 
walking,  is  fatiguing  in  many  cases,  where,  if  the  mind  was 
exercised  also,  no  fatigue  would  be  felt.  Take  children  out 
in  the  field  to  hunt  flowers  or  fruit — never  to  hunt  bird's 
nests — that  is  all  wrong — and  they  rarely  grow  tired.  An 
invalid,  who  is  fatigued  in  going  up  and  down  stairs,  will 
climb  a  mountain  for  the  view  of  the  beautiful  landscape 
spread  out  before  him.  All  females  should  accustom  them- 
selves to  take  long  walks — walks  that  have  an  object  and 
interest  for  the  mind.  I  knew  one  person  restored  to  health 
who  thought  herself  in  a  decline,  just  through  an  interest 
she  took  in  a  little  girl,  and  by  following  her  home  to  see 
her  sick  mother,  became  so  interested  that  she  walked  a 
mile  every  day  upon  her  mission  of  mercy  and  thus  saved 
her  own  life. 

"  It  was  not  only  the  exercise  and  fresh  air,  but  the  sooth- 
ing influence  of  doing  an  angelic  act  to  one  of  her  own  sex, 
who  was  in  deep  distress. 

"  All  well  trained  minds  feel  happy  when  thus  employed. 


140  fcCOflOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 


"The  fashions  ot  society  which  condemn  young  girls  to 
confinement  to  books  and  a  sedentary  life,  are  destructive 
of  beauty,  grace,  health  and  happiness. 

"  One  of  the  great  defects  in  family  education  is  the  ill- 
breeding  of  children  ;  that  is,  a  want  of  proper  training  of 
their  manners  towards  superiors,  and  touching  their  conduct 
in  all  the  little  proprieties  of  life. 

"  Be  courteous,  should  be  a  daily  maxim,  impressed  upon 
every  child's  mind.  A  child  that  is  not  courteous  to  a 
parent,  is  not  one  that  meets  with  love  from  all.  A  child 
never  should  address  a  parent  like  an  equal.  Every  one 
should  behave  at  home  and  abroad  exactly  alike.  If  chil- 
dren are  allowed  to  be  rude  at  home,  they  will  be  so  abroad. 
The  natural  disposition  of  children,  is  to  assume  airs  of 
equality  with  those  who  are  their  seniors,  and  entitled  to 
their  respect  and  deference.  If  that  disposition  is  not 
checked,  they  grow  pert,  overbearing,  umuniablc,  ill-man- 
nered. Children  should  be  taught  gratitude.  '  Thank  you, 
ma'am.'  costs  nothing,  but  it  often  sounds  as  though  it  was 
worth  something. 

"  Never  make  rude  remarks  of  another,  or  laugh  at  a  de- 
fect of  speech,  or  person,  or  mock  an  unfortunate. 

';  Rudeness  at  table  is  never  forgiven.  Nothing  is  more 
disagreeable  to  a  well  bred  person.  Study  to  imitate  such 
persons,  and  you  may  soon  be  like  them.  Their  company  is 
always  appreciated  and  courted,  while  that  of  a  rude  person 
is  dreaded  and  avoided. 

"  A  mild  tempered,  well  bred  child,  no  matter  how  homely 
the  countenance,  will  always  be  loved  and  welcomed  among 
a  lults  or  children,  while  one  of  rude  manners  will  be  ex- 
dud  >d  —  perhaps  hated. 


bOOLUIJSG    WIVES.  141 

'•  A  good  temper,  particularly  in  a  housekeeper,  who  has 
charge  of  a  family,  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings.  It 
makes  of  itself  an  atmosphere  of  love,  that  glows  and  shines 
upon  all  the  household. 

"  There  is  no  purgatory  more  irritating  to  a  husband  than, 
a  scolding  wife,  or  more  heart  -burning  to  a  wife  than  a  fret- 
ful husband.  In  such  a  house,  how  can  children  grow  up 
with  happy,  cheerful  dispositions.  They  feel  a  dread,  a  sort 
of  shock,  at  the  very  step  of  such  a  parent  approaching.  I 
have  seen  men  who  never  were  satisfied  with  a  meal — some- 
thing was  always  wrong,  i  have  seen  women  who  appa- 
rently never  spoke  a  good-natured  word.  Their  wqrds  were 
like  oil  of  vitriol — burning  every  ear  they  fell  upon.  Under 
their  influence  the  husband  grows  discontented  and  unhap- 
py, and  avoids  home.  The  children  grow  up  ungovernable, 
petulant,  uuamiable  ;  a  dread  to  others,  and  misery  to  them- 
selves. At  table,  they  eat  more  like  pigs  than  well-behaved 
children,  and  if  there  are  strangers  in  the  house,  the  child- 
ren, and  the  thought  how  they  may  conduct  themselves,  are 
a  source  of  constant  anxiety  and  dread.  They  are  under 
no  control,  because  thc.>y  are  the  victims  of  a  scold/' 

"  Ah,  Lillie,"  said  Salinda,  "I  see  you  Lave 
been  getting  acquainted  with  the  family  of 
Koyden's,  in  Father  Bright  Hopes.  In  that 
case  both  father  and  mother  were  scolds  ;  it  is 
therefore  no  wonder  the  children  were  uncon- 
trollable." 

"  And  I  see,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  that  Lillie 


ECONOMY"    ILLUSTRATED. 

has  had  a  very  good  assistant  in  making  up 
her  composition.  I  am  quite  interested.  Have 
you  any  more,  my  daughter?" 

"Yes,  sir;  but  I  was  just  going  to  ask  you 
if  I  should  go  on.  I  am  afraid  I  shall  tire  you 
all  out,  with  my  crudities." 

"  I  will  answer  for  them,  sister,"  said  Frank  ; 
"  when  they  are  tired  they  will  begin  to  yawn 
or  go  to  sleep  while  you  are  reading. 

I  am  thinking,  father,  that  mother  had 
about  as  much  to  do  with  this  composition  as 
sister.  I  wish  we  could  have  it  printed  ;  for  I 
think  it  would  do  good  to  a  great  many  other 
families." 

"  No  doubt,  my  boy ;  but  let  us  listen  what 
•more  she  has  for  us,  as  it  is  not  late  yet." 

Lillie  proceeded  with  cheerfulness,  being 
thus  encouraged.  She  even  felt  proud  that  a 
part  of  it  was  attributed  to  her  mother,  though 
she  had  never  seen  it — it  was  only  her  ideas, 
often  instilled  into  a  susceptible  mind.  She 
read  on. 

"  One  of  the  best  rules  of  household  economy  is  order, 
system,  regularity.  Have  fixed  hours  for  meals,  and  if  you 
have  servants,  make  them  understand  that  every  meal  must 


HOW   TO   CUBE   WANT   OF   PUNCTUALITY.    143 

be  as  regularly  on  the  table,  as  though  the  starting  of  a 
railroad  train  depended  upon  it.  Otherwise  you  will  have 
collisions  all  day.  Make  punctuality  the  household  law.  If 
a  child  is  not  punctual  at  meal-time,  fasting  will  soon  cure 
the  fault.  Some  girls  in  the  kitchen  are  never  punctual 
with  meals.  Don't  scold.  Tell  them  mildly  what  will  be 
the  consequence,  at  the  first  failure  ;  and  the  second,  re- 
mind them  that  the  offence  cannot  be  repeated  with  impu- 
nity ;  and  give  a  prompt  dismissal  for  the  third  failure. 

"  A  gentleman  who  had  been  the  torment  of  his  first  wife 
in  never  coming  to  his  meals  when  ready,  married  a  second 
one  who  was  made  up  of  clock-work.  She  found  remon- 
strance was  useless  ;  but  she  ascertained  that  he  was  a  very 
close  calculator  of  dollars  and  cents,  and  she  adopted  this 
plan.  She  opened  an  account,  and  charged  him  with  the 
time  of  every  member  of  the  family,  every  minute  they  were 
delayed  by  his  neglect.  She  also  charged  the  deterioration 
of  dishes  and  loss  of  food  by  standing  till  they  got  cold  and 
sodden  ;  for  she  had  everything  put  upon  the  table  at  the 
exact  moment. 

"  At  the  end  of  a  month  she  laid  the  bill  upon  his  plate 
one  morning.  The  man  was  astounded.  His  face  flashed 
fire,  but  his  eye^rested  upon  a  smile  on  the  face  of  his  wife. 
'  Don't  you  think,'  said  she,  '  that  that  is  a  sum  worth  sav- 
ing ?'  '  Wife,'  said  he,  '  if  you  will  allow  me  a  credit  for 
every  day  I  am  punctual  hereafter,  equal  to  the  daily  charge 
here,  I  will  try  to  balance  this  account.'  One  month  from 
that  day  she  gave  him  a  receipt  in  full.  •'  In  fact,'  said  she, 
'  I  think  there  is  still  a  small  balance  in  your  favor.  Here 
it  is.'  And  she  threw  her  arms  around  his  neck  and  kissed 


ECONOMY    ILLTTSTKATKD. 

him  fondly.    '  So  much,'  said  he, '  for  learning  me  the  value 
of  punctuality.' 

"  It  is  very  bad  economy  to  neglect  the  opportunity  of 
leisure  moments  in  every  household,  to  cultivate  the  intel- 
lect. If  possible,  there  should  be  an  allotment  of  a  portion 
of  every  day,  where  there  are  children,  to  make  them  know 
one  thing  more  than  they  knew  the  day  before. 

"  The  father  as  he  comes  from  the  field  may  pick  up  three 
stones,  by  which  he  can  teach  them  the  names  and  charac- 
ter of  three  kinds  of  rock.  Here  is  the  hard  granite,  called 
a  primitive  rock  ;  and  here  is  still  harder  quartz  ;  and  here 
is  the  limestone  that  was  perhaps  trickling  as  a  liquid  over 
the  others,  centuries  after  they  were  formed. 

••  The  mother  as  she  picks  the  cowslip — the  tender  dock 
— the  young  shoots  of  cokeberry  plant — the  pig-weed  or 
lamb's  quarter — the  purslain — the  star  plant — for  greens,  in 
the  spring  season,  could  give  her  children  useful  lessons  in 
botany.  So  of  every  flower  and  fruit  through  summer  ; 
teach  them  their  formation,  properties  and  use. 

"Almost  overy  country  housekeeper  knows  that  the  bark 
of  the  common  elder  is  medicinal ;  but  there  are  two  who 
believe  it  mi-st  be  scraped  up  or  down,  I  forget  which,  or  it 
loses  all  its  \  U'tue,  to  one  that  knows  why,  or  what  healing 
power  it  possesses.  Stew  the  bark  in  laid,  no  matter 
which- way  it  ivas  scraped,  and  it  will  make  a  healing  oint- 
ment for  all  sores. 

"  Carrots  prepared  in  the  same  way,  make  an  ointment, 
perhaps,  that  excels  all  others  for  old  sores.  What  house- 
keeper who  thinks  carrots  indispensable  in  soup,  ever  thinks 
to  inquir*  why  they  arc  so?  Much  more,  if  she  knows,  to 


BOTA.NY,  AMD  ITS  UKKKFITS.  145 

teach  her  children  that  it  is  because  they  coutain  an  excess 
over  other  vegetables  of  pectic  acid,  which  assists  to  gelatin, 
ize  that  property  of  the  meat  in  the  liquid,  and  render  the 
soup  richer. 

••  How  mauy  know  when  they  read  of  the  okra  plant,  what 
it  is,  or  that  its  pods  furnish  one  of  the  richest  vegetable 
substances  that  grow,  for  soup  ? 

••  Botany  ;  household  botany  5  botany  of  food-bearing 
plants,  if  taught  children,  would  enable  many  persons  to 
live  far  more  comfortably  and  healthily  than  they  do  in 
their  ignorance. 

"  A  better  knowledge  of  botany  would  promote  the  cul- 
tivation of  flowers,  and  offer  an  endless  source  of  amuse- 
ment and  enjoyment  to  children  ;  besides  promoting  their 
health.  It  would  be  a  true  source  of  economy.  It  would 
use  up  little  waste  portions  of  time. 

••  The  use  and  value  of  money  should  be  early  taught  to 
children.  One  of  the  most  effectual  ways  to  do  this  is  to 
learn  them,  as  far  as  may  be,  to  make  their  own  purchases, 
and  to  keep  an  account  of  the  cost  of  everything  purchased 
for  them.  This  should  be  footed  up  every  year,  and  thus  a 
young  lady  who  never  earned  a  dollar,  might  see  how  many 
she  had  cost.  Such  an  account.  too,would  serve  her  as  a  guide 
to  know  how  much  many  useless  articles  had  cost,  and  how 
soon  a  little  income  could  be  absorbed  in  flimsy  dresses. 

"  It  is  poor  economy  for  a  woman  to  spend  days  and 
weeks  upon  a  piece  of  ornamental  needlework,  and  at  the 
eame  time  hire  her  plain  sewing  done.  It  is  generally  poor 
economy  to  hire  work  done  that  you  could  just  as  well  do 
yourself. 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 


"  Cheap  articles  are  not  always  economical  ones  I  knew 
a  family  who  furnished  a  house  with  cheap  furniture.  In 
three  years  the  carpets  had  all  to  be  replaced.  A  set  of 
parlor  chairs  and  sofa  had  cost  twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
original  price  in  repairs.  A  cheap  piano  had  been  gent 
back,  and  a  new  one  bought.  And  so  on  of  all  the  articles 
in  the  house.  An  addition  of  fifty  per  cent,  to  the  first 
cost,  would  have  been  fifty  per  cent,  saved. 

••  No  one,  whether  rich  or  poor,  whether  owner  or  not. 
has  a  right  to  destroy  anything  that  would  be  useful  to 
another. 

'•  '  I  can  do  as  I  please  with  my  own,'  is  false  philosophy. 
Property  is  a  loan  of  Providence  that  we  must  account  for 
strictly.  If  you  have  an  old  garment  that  you  do  not  want, 
some  one  else  of  God's  creatures  does  ;  and  you  have  no 
right  wantonly  to  destroy  it  because  you  are  the  acknow- 
ledged owner. 

"  The  gift  of  an  old  coat  may  sow  the  seed  that  will  ripen 
you  a  valuable  field.  An  old  bed-quilt  that  you  have  cast 
asido.  may  gave  a  poor  woman  from  a  fit  of  rheumatism  ; 
or  that  pair  of  old  boots,  if  given  to  some  poor  boy  instead 
of  being  thrown  into  the  fire,  might  enable  him  to  go  to 
school,  and  afterwards  perhaps  to  Congress,  or  what  would 
be  still  better,  become  a  useful  mechanic. 

t;  Economy  in  all  expenditures  is  not  parsimony.  A  man 
f>r  woman  may  be  saving,  without  being  niggardly.  A  per- 
son may  be  generous  without  being  lavish.  Carelessness  of 
expanse  is  no  mark  of  wealth  or  respectability.  And  cer- 
tainly a  mean  disposition  to  cheapen,  and  beat  down  the 
price  of  good?,  or  hire  cheap  labor,  is  not  a  mark  of  a  gen- 
erous mind. 


ECONOMY    IS    NOT    PARSIMONY.  147 

"  Some  persons  are  afraid  to  say,  '  I  cannot  afford  it.' 
They  forget  that  is  the  highest  recommendation  of  credit. 
It  is  no  mark  of  want  of  money — it  is  an  evidence  of  pru- 
dence in  expenditures. 

'•  Many  a  family  have  been  ruined  because  the  husband 
could  not  say  to  some  extravagant  demand  of  his  young 
wife,  who  had  never  learned  the  value  of  money,  or  the  ruin 
of  following  a  foolish  fashion,  '  I  can't  afford  it.' 

V 

••  To  a  demand  of  some  poor  suffering  widow,  however, 
for  a  trifling  assistance,  a  great  many  of  those  most  guilty 
of  extravagance,  are  ready  to  say,  '  I  can't  afford  it.' 

"  No  person  can  afford  to  be  sick,  and  therefore  the  art 
of  preserving  health  should  be  constantly  taught  in  all 
families  and  schools.  It  is  not  generally  taught  in  churches, 
for  of  all  other  places  they  are  the  worst  ventilated.  Many 
of  our  school-rooms  too.  are  the  hot-beds  where  the  seeds 
of  disease  are  planted.  Few  nurseries  are  nurseries  of 
health.  Bed-rooms  are  places  where  the  living  are  en- 
tombed. Neither  body  nor  mind  can  enjoy  health  without  a 
constant  contact  with  pure  air. 

"  The  best  advice  in  regard  to  the  management  of  ser- 
vants and  children,  is  to  avoid  fault-finding.  It  never  curts 
the  fault.  If  pleasant  words  and  good  advice  will  not  do 
if.  you  may  as  well  give  up.  Don't  fret  whenever  you  find 
that  those  you  have  directed  to  do  certain  work,  have  not 
the  judgment  of  yourself,  or  have  lacked  energy,  or  failed 
to  execute  your  orders.  Inexperienced  minds  lack  fore- 
thought. They  do  not  lack  sensitiveness  when  chided  for  a 
fault.  If  the  chiding  is  oft  repeated — perhaps  when  least 
deserved — the  ear  grows  dull  and  mind  hardened,  and 
instead  of  reform,  a  fixed  carelessness  ensues. 


14:8  ECONOMY    ILLU.ai:.Vn;L>. 

"  There  is  economy  as  well  as  humanity,  in  the  care  of 
the  sick  ;  for  with  a  proper  care  the  patient  may  recover, 
instead  of  lingering  through  a  long  confinement.  The  dis- 
ease of  the  mind  is  often  equal  to  that  of  the  body,  and  re- 
quires constant  watchfulness  and  cheerfulness  on  the  part 
of  those  in  charge.  It  is  well  said  that  recovery  depends 
more  upon  the  nurse  than  the  physician.  A  good  nurse  will 
always  keep  a  room  well  ventilated,  and  in  neat  order.  To 
some  minds,  it  is  a  cause  of  deep  distress  when  sick  to  see 
everything  in  confusion. 

"Never  ask  a  sick  person  what  he  or  she  would  like  to 
have  to  eat ;  but  provide  some  little  delicacy  that  is  suita- 
ble, and  bring  it  on  a  waiter  covered  with  a  clean  napkin, 
and  only  such  a  minute  quantity  as  will  be  sufficient,  and 
not  sicken  the  weak  stomach  at  the  sight  of  so  much  that 
cannot  be  eaten. 

"  There  is  nothing  more  valuable  in  a  sick-room  than 
chloride  of  lime.  It  keeps  the  atmosphere  healthy,  even  in 
such  horrid  diseases  as  the  small-pox. 

;<  For  a  convenient  cheap  disinfector,  coffee  is  the  most 
readily  used  and  quick  in  its  action,  and  rarely  offensive  to 
any  one.  I'ut  a  few  grains  upon  any  hot  iron,  and  roast  it 
in  the  room  from  which  you  wish  to  remove  the  effluvia. 
In  a  moment  you  will  smell  nothing  but  the  coffee.  Cop- 
peras, dissolved  and  sprinkled  about  is  a  good  disinfector. 
Care  must  be  taken  not  to  let  it  fall  upon  white  cloth,  as  it 
makes  a  permanent  stain.  Acids  are  used  for  disinfectors, 
but  the  smell  to  some  persons  is  disagreeable.  We  know 
one  who  would  rather  smell  a  skunk  than  vinegar  fumes 
while  heated.  Burnt  sugar  makes  an  agreeable  smell,  and 


SPECIFICS PRKVKNTIV  KS— AMUSEMENTS.   14:9 

so  does  the  smell  of  burning  rosin  ;  but  delicate  lungs  may 
be  offended  with  the  smoke. 

"  I^shall  only  mention  two  or  three  specifics,  and  that 
only  because  but  little  known. 

il  In  small-pox,  the  pits  can  be  entirely  prevented,  by  cov- 
ering the  pustules  as  fast  as  they  break,  with  a  coating  of 
collodian,  a  liquid  cuticle,  sold  at  all  the  drag  shops.  In 
malignant  erysipelas,  a  poultice  of  cranberries  will  effect  a 
cure  when  all  other  remedies  fail. 

"  In  all  bowel  complaints,  the  only  certain  remedy,  that 
is  worthy  the  name  of  specific,  is  a  tea  made  of  the  bark  of 
the  sweet  gum  tree  (Liquid  Jlmber),  that  grows  all  over  the 
United  States,  south  of  latitude  41°.  It  is  en  invaluable 
medicine  for  children. 

"  But  the  best  medicine,  and  the  best  nurse  in  the  world, 
is  the  one  that  prevents  rather  than  cures  sickness. 

'•Under  the  head  of  preventives,  for  they  are  promoters 
of  health,  I  would  rank  family  amusements.  These,  where 
well  conducted,  prepare  the  body  and  mind  for  the  actual 
duties  of  life.  Some  children  need  amusement  as  much  as 
they  need  food.  If  every  father  would  play  cards  with  his 
son,  and  at  the  same  time  teach  him  the  evils  of  gambling, 
and  the  contempt  of  all  respectable  people  for  such  an  oc- 
cupation, the  gambling  trade  would  soon  cease  to  exist. 

"  But  I  do  not  by  any  means  recommend  card-playing. 
It  is  an  idle  game,  from  which  nothing  of  practical  utility 
is  to  be  learned.-  Many  other  games  belong  to  the  same 
category.  Some,  however,  that  appear  childish  to  a  man, 
may  be  very  properly  indulged  in  by  children.  Rolling 
ten-pins  ;  pitching  quoits  ;  skating  ;  playing  ball ;  are  all 


150  ECONOMY    LLLUSTKATED. 

manly  exercise?,  but  all  may  be  indulged  in  by  girls  with 
advantage  to  the  development  of  their  physical  strength, 
and  without  detriment  to  their  morality. 

"  Dancing  for  amusement,  and  not  for  dissipation,  should 
not  be  placed  under  the  ban  of  the  strictest  moralist. 

"  Singing  for  amusement  should  be  encouraged,  and  ex- 
tensively practiced  by  all  families.  So  should  practice  upon 
musical  instruments. 

"In-door  amusements  for  children — home  plays — induce- 
ments to  spend  the  evenings  at  home — should  be  constantly 
studied  by  every  parent.  The  most  feasible,  and  the  one 
which  should  be  kept  the  most  prominent,  is  family  read- 
ing, and  family  lectures,  where  all  are  made  to  feel  an  in- 
terest in  the  reader,  or  speaker,  or  his  subject. 

•'  A  great  deal  of  useful  labor  may  be  done  in  every 
family,  not  as  labor,  but  as  a  source  of  amusement,  by 
which  the  mind  is  employed.  Such  is  the  cultivation  of  a 
garden.  Few  children,  who  have  become  accustomed  to 
tending  a  garden,  would  be  willing  to  dispense  with  it,  be- 
cause it  is  their  amusement.  It  is  their  happiness  to  see  the 
flowers  and  fruit  grow  ;  and  they  show  them  to  their  com- 
panions with  as  much  satisfaction  as  the  builder  of  a  ship 
would  show  his  work  to  a  company  of  merchants. 

"  In  all  things  encourage  your  children  to  amuse  them- 
selves with  something  useful  ;  but  if  they  strike  upon  a  vein 
of  mirth,  or  something  ridiculous,  do  not  restrain  their 
laughter.  Laugh  and  grow  fat,  is  a  meaning  proverb. 
Laughter  expands  the  lungs  and  promotes  health.  Do  not 
tell  a  child  that  it  is  wicked  to  laugh.  Learn  them  not  to 
laugh  at  wicked  stories,  or  stale,  vulgar  jokes,  and  never  to 


THINGS    To    LKAK-V.  151 

fee  boisterous.  Let  them  be  merry.  Let  the  little  girl 
laugh  with  her  doll,  aud  not  tell  her  it  is  '  so  childish,'  and 
that '  she  ought  to  be  asliamed  of  herself  ' — aud  to  '  try  and 
,  see  if  she  can't  be  a  lady.'  Depend  upon  it,  she  will  ape 
the  lady  soon  enough  without  any  hot-house  cultivation  of 
Uic  (acuity  of  imitation. 

"  One  of  the  early  habits  that  should  be  taught  children, 
is  to  take  care  of  their  own  clothes  ;  and  boy  or  girl,  as 
soon  as  big  enough,  should  learn  to  mend,  and  the  value  of 
that  old  adage,  '  a  stitch  in  time  saves  nine.'  " 

"  There  is  another  thing  that  children  should 
learn,"  said  Lillie,  closing  her  book,  and  rising, 
"and  that  is  the  habit  which  I  have  acquired 
from  the  good  example  of  my  parents,  not  to 
continue  my  reading  till  I  tire  out  my  audi- 
ence, or  until  it  is  past  our  usual  hour  of  re- 
tirement. It  is  bed-time.  You  must  forgive 
3iie  one  and  all  if  I  have  trespassed  upon  good 
breeding,  in  my  anxiety  to  finish  in  one  even- 
ing, what  has  occupied  me  a  month  in  prepar- 
ing." 

Mr.  Savery  expressed  his  high  satisfaction 
at  her  successful  production,  and  Salinda  de- 
clared that  she  had  learned  more  than  she  ever 
did  before  from  any  lecturer  of  the  many  she 
lia'd  listened  to.  Mrs.  Savery,  owing  to  the 


152  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

suspicion  that  she  was  partly  entitled  to  the 
authorship,  said  nothing.  Not  so  with  Frank. 

"  Xow,  sister  Lillie,  that  is  all  very  good,  so 
far  as  it  goes ;  but  only  think  how  much  bet- 
ter it  would  be  if  it  was  printed  in  a  nice  book, 
which  might  be  read  by  thousands  in  all 
coming  years." 

That  idea  embodied  a  thought.  "  It  is 
worth  thinking  about,"  said  Mrs.  Savery. 

It  is  worth  thinking  about,  whether  the 
readers  of  this  book-are  satisfied  ;  and,  if  like 
Salincla,  they  think  they  have  learned  more 
than  from  the  discourse  of  a  lecturer  of  much 
higher  pretensions  than  this  school-girl,  they 
should  also  think  to  whom  they  are  indebted 
for  it.  Primarily,  to  be  sure,  to  the  writer, 
but  certainly  to  Frank  Savery ;  for  it  is  owing 
to  his  suggestion  of  "  how  much  better  it 
would  be,"  that  it  is  here  printed  in  this  nice 
book,  to  be  read  by  whole  generations  of  such 
good  children  as  Salinda,  Lillie  and  Frank. 


CHAPTER    Y. 

Saturday — Salinda  in  the  Kitchen — Preparation  for  Sunday 
— Visit  to  the  Country. 

SATURDAY  in  the  Savery  family,  Salinda 
found  to  be  what  it  should  be  in  the  family 
of  all  Christendom — preparation  for  a  day  set 
apart  for  cessation  from  labor — devotion — rest 
throughout  all  the  nations  that  worship  God 
through  Christ. 

By  special  invitation  she  spent  the  forenoon 
in  the  kitchen.  Susan  was  preparing  food  for 
Sunday,  so  as  to  avoid  cooking  as  far  as  possi- 
ble. "With  that  view  she  made  a  large,  plain 
rice-pudding.  It  was  a  common-sized  milk- 
pan  full. 

"I  do  this,"  said  she,  "because  a  rice-pud- 
ding is  really  better  cold  than  hot,  and  this 
will  serve  to-morrow  and  Monday  also ;  for 
then  I  shall  be  busy  washing,  and  Mrs.  Savery 
will  get  the  dinner." 

7* 


154:  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

"  No ;  that  I  intend  to  do  myself,  if  you  and 
sue  are  willing." 

"  Certainly,  with  all  my  heart ;  and  I  can 
tell  you  everything  while  I  am  at  work  just  as 
well.  I  always  put  raisins  in  rice-puddings, 
because  they  add  a  nice  flavor.  I  generally 
cut  them,  and  put  them  in  soak  over  night,  or 
a  few  hours  before  using ;  but  you  must  be 
careful  to  use  the  water  as  well  as  fruit.  I 
put  my  cinnamon  in  soak  with  the  raisins,  as 
I  always  use  whole  sticks,  and  if  it  is  put  in 
the  rice  dry  it  does  not  always  give  up  all 
the  strength.  I  soak  my  rice  soft,  before  I 
mix  it  with  the  milk.  It  should  bake  slowly 
about  two  hours." 

"  What  are  you  soaking  this  meat  for  '?" 

"  That  is  the  edge  bone  of  the  round — the 

most  economical  piece  of  meat  in  the  whole 

beef.     I  shall  boil  that  directly,  till  it  is  nice 

and  tender,  and  in  the  liquor  I  shall  put  all 

that  pan  of  roast  meat  bones,  which  I  have 

been  saving  all  the  week,  and  add  my  vege- 

.  tables,  and  make  such  a  nice  pot  of  soup — and, 

as  you  see,  all  for  nothing.     That  soup  is  for 

to-morrow.     You  must  be  careful  never  to  let 


PKLPAKJNG    FOlt    SUNDAY.  155 

aoup  cool  iii  the  iron  pot  in  which  it  is  cooked. 
I  take  it  out  and  pour  it  through  the  cullender 
into  the  soup  tureen.  It  sometimes,  particu- 
larly if  I  use  a  good  many  carrots,  gelatinizes 
so  as  to  be  like  a  jelly.  This  I  heat  up  to- 
morrow iu  a  clean  tin  kettle. 

"  The  meat  I  shall  take  out,  and  while  it  is 
wet,  I  sprinkle  it  all  over  with  pulverized 
cracker  or  rusk  bread,  with  whatever  season- 
ing is  agreeable  to  the  family.  Some  use  gar- 
lic or  onions,  and  various  herbs.  We  prefer 
everything  plain.  I  use  a  little  salt,  pepper, 
thyme,  arid  afterwards  garnish  with  parsley. 
This  meat  I  put  in  a  dish  in  a  hot  oven,  just 
long  enough  to  brown  the  outside.  You  will 
say  to-morrow  that  it  is  very  nice,  and  quite 
as  good  as  though  it  was  hot.  This  also  serves 
for  Monday,  dinner  and  tea,  and  very  like  for 
breakfast  Tuesday.  My  potatoes  I  prepare  to- 
day, by  boiling  and  mashing,  and  putting  in 
this  tin  pan.  If  I  have  a  fire  in  the  range, 
I  clap  the  pan  in  the  oven,  first  glazing  the 
top  with  the  white  of  an  egg.  It  browns  and 
heats  through  directly.  If  I  use  nothing  but 
this  little  charcoal  furnace,  I  put  the  pan  in 


156  ECONOMY    ILLt'STRATDir. 

this  little  bake-ovcn,  lirst  heating  the  lid,  and 
set  the  whole  over  the  coals.  This  and  the 
soup  is  all  that  I  have  to  cook.  When  pota- 
toes are  better  fresh  boiled,  I  can  boil  a  mess 
and  heat  my  soup  with  a  quart  of  coal. 

"  To-morrow  we  shall  have  for  dinner,  cold 
meat  and  cold  rice-pudding,  and  hot  soup  and 
potatoes,  with  lettuce  and  radishes.  Perhaps 
Mr.  Savery  will  bring  a  lobster  this  evening." 

"  And  what  about  breakfast  ?  Do  you  coqk 
for  breakfast  ?" 

"  Very  little.  I  make  a  cup  of  tea,  or  cocoa. 
If  I  have  cold  potatoes  1  fry  them.  Then, 
with  a  little  cold  boiled  ham,  or  corn  beef,  or 
tongue,  or  leg  of  mutton,  with  fruits  in  their 
season,  we  make  a  nice  Sunday  breakfast, 
without  roasting  the  cook's  face  for  it.  To- 
morrow morning  we  shall  have  strawberries, 
and  bread  and  butter,  and  cottage-cheese  ;  all 
but  the  bread,  fresh  from  Mr.  Savery's  mo- 
ther's farm,  a  few  miles  out  of  town.  The  old 
lady  has  written  that  she  would  send  them, 
but  all  hands  are  going  out  this  evening  for  a 
ride,  and  to  get  these  luxuries.  I  don't  know 
as  I  ought  to  have  mentioned  it,  as  I  believe 


ICED    TEA.  157 

they  wanted  to  give  you  a  little  surprise,  but 
I  forgot  that.  But  yon  see  I  shall  have  no 
cooking  to-morrow  morning,  and  very  little  all 
day." 

"  How  admirably  you  have  everything  ar- 
ranged so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the  Sabbath, 
mid  yet  you  will  have  a  better  and  far  more 
wholesome  breakfast  and  dinner,  than  many 
that  are  obtained  by  toil  and  privations  of  all 
the  privileges  and  enjoyments  of  that  day. 
But  how  about  tea?  What  do  you  provide 
for  that  ?" 

"  For  to-morrow  I  shail  make  a  nice  custard, 
This,  with  the  cottage- cheese — or,  as  some  call 
it,  smear-case — and  radishes,  with  bread  and 
butter,  and  a  bit  of  the  cold  beef,  if  any  one 
wants  it,  will  make  a  nice  hearty  meal.  Some- 
times, in  warm  weather,  I  make  the  tea  when 
I  have  h're,  in  the  fore  part  of  the  day,  and 
cork  it  tight  in  a  bottle,  a,id  then  I  put  it.  in 
the  tea-pot  over  a  spirit-lamp,  and  heat  it  in 
five  minutes,  so  that  I  have  no  h,*e  at  all  in  the 
afternoon.  Last  summer  we  got  in  the  habit 
of  taking  the  tea  iced,  and  really  thought  it 
better  than  when  hot." 


15S  KCONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

While  these  arrangements  were  going  on  in 
the  kitchen,  preparatory  to  Sunday,  Frank 
was  us  busy  as  a  bee  in  the  garden,  and  Lillie, 
with  her  long  coarse  apron,  and  snug  cap,  was 
all  over  the  house,  sweeping  and  dusting,  and 
"  setting  things  to  rights."  Mrs.  Savery  Avas 
industriously  engaged  upon  a  summer  coat  for 
her  husband,  for  it  was  his  boast  that  he  had 
never  worn  one  made  by  any  other  hands 
since  he  was  married,  and  that  no  man  went 
neater  dressed  than  himself. 

After  dinner,  Mr.  Savery  said  to  his  wife, 
"  What  time  shall  we  start?  I  told  Henry  to 
bring  the  wagon  round  at  two  o'clock.  Will 
you  all  be  ready  ?" 

Mrs.  Savery  thought  he  had  better  take  the 
girls  and  Frank,  and  leave  her,  she  had  =o 
much  to  do. 

;<  That  is  the  very  reason  why  you  should 
go.  There  is  nothing  that  enables  us  to  do -so 
much  as  an  occasional  day  of  rest — a  little 
recreation,  or  relaxation  from  labor." 

Mrs.  Savery  said,  "  It  would  not  be  a  day 
of  rest  to  her,  for  she  should  come  home  much 
more  tired  than  though  she  remained." 


MISTRESS    AND    SERVANTS.  .   159 

"  Even  so  ;  and  still  it  will  be  beneficial  to 
you.  No  doubt  you  will  feel  fatigued,  but  you 
will  sleep  all  the  sounder,  and  feel  refreshed 
in  the  morning,  much  more  than  though  you 
had  not  taken  the  ride  in  the  fresh  air.  Your 
work  here  will  be  more  fatiguing  than  the  ride." 

"  Suppose  you  let  me  stay,  and  take  Susan. 
I  am  sure  she  needs  it  more  than  me.  Poor 
girl,  she  has  little  chance  of  recreation.  Her 
task  is  work,  work,  day  after  day." 

"And  pray,  what  is  yours  different  from 
mine,  except  that  you  work  and  have  the  care, 
while  I  have  none.  I  am  able  and  willing  to 
work,  and  very  contented.  I  don't  feel  as 
though  I  should  be  willing  to  change  places 
with  you  or  any  other  mistress  of  a  family. 
And  I  don't  think  that  any  sensible  girl 
would,  if  every  mistress  would  treat  their  ser- 
vants as  you  do." 

"  Susan,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  if  all  girls 
were  like  you,  with  sense  enough  to  know 
when  they  are  well  off,  there  would  be  fewer 
unhappy,  discontented,  fretful  mistresses  of 
families.  Many  who  marry  are  no  more  fit 
for  the  station  they  assume,  than  rny  horse  that 


100  J-.CONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 


Henry  has  just  driven  up  to  the  door.  So  now 
to  end  the  difficulty  as  to  which  shall  go,  I  will 
take  you  all.  Come,  hurrah,  get  ready." 

However,  Susan  concluded,  with  her  cook- 
ing on  hand,  that  she  could  not  leave,  and 
would  not  consent  that  either  of  the  others 
should  stay  in  her  place,  though  both  of  the 
girls  urged  her  to  accept  their  services. 

It  was  a  plain  open  wagon  with  two  seats. 
Salinda  begged  the  privilege  of  sitting  with 
Mr.  Savery  on  the  forward  one,  that  she  might 
learn  to  drive.  This  he  was  pleased  to  give 
her  an  opportunity  to  do,  because,  said  he,  "  I 
look  upon  it  as  a  part  of  the  education  of  a 
girl  that  never  should  be  overlooked,  though 
it  generally  is,  that  she  should  learn  horse- 
manship. Every  one  should  be  taught  how, 
so  that  upon  emergency,  if  not  for  pleasure, 
she  could  take  charge  of  a  horse,  or  a  pair." 

"  My  sister  Clara,  then,  suits  your  ideas  ex- 
actly," said  Mrs.  Savery.  u  She  can,  if  neces- 
sary, go  to  the  stable  and  hitch  up  her  horse 
— sometimes  she  does  a  pair — and  take  the 
children  or  a  companion  into  the  wagon,  and 
drive  off  a  dozen  miles ;  and  she  takes  pride 


KEQUFSITKS    FOR    A    GOuI>    DRIVFli.  161 

in  driving  by  everybody  on  the  road.  She  is 
perfectly  fearless  and  independent  with  a 
horse,  either  in  a  wagon  or  when  she  is  on  his 
back." 

"It  truly  is  an  accomplishment,"  said  Sa- 
linda,  "that  I  should  feel  prond  of;  and  one 
that  I  will  acquire,  if  Charley  keeps  a  horse. 
There  is  something  excitingly  pleasant,  in 
guiding  a  noble  animal  like  this  along  a  good 
road.  Do  you  think  I  could  make  myself  a 
good  driver  ?" 

"There  is  not  the  least  doubt  of  it.  You 
have  the  very  first  requisite  for  it." 

"  What  is  that  ?" 

"  A  calm  temper,  and  freedom  from  that 
nervous  impatience  which  runs  out  to  the  very 
finger  ends  of  some  people,  and  keeps  them 
constantly  twitching  at  the  reins,  or  using  the 
whip,  or  speaking  sharply  to  urge  the  horse 
forward.  Such  driving  will  spoil  any  horse. 
The  temper  of  the  driver  always  seems  to  me 
to  affect  the  horse.  If  one  is  gentle,  the  other 
is.  A  horse  soon  learns  to  know  his  driver, 
and  frequently  there  is  a  warm  affection  grows 
up  between  them.  Scolding  and  twitching  a 


lt!l!  KCONOMY    II.I.VSTKATLO. 

horse  will  spoil  him  as  sure  as  the  same  treat- 
ment will  spoil  a  child.  This  horse  is  gentle 
and  playful,  yet  spirited.  I  never  knew  him 
play  a  trick  with  a  woman  or  child.  A  man 
or  boy  whom  lie  does  not  know  had  better  keep 
his  eyes  open.  He  would  soon  learn  to  know 
you.  He  would  distinguish  the  very  touch 
of  your  hand  on  the  rein,  it  is  so  steady  and 
firm,  without  pulling.  Your  voice,  too,  is 
soft ;  a  horse  is  as  easily  charmed  by  such  a 
voice,  as  a  man.  There  is  great  magnetic 
power  in  the  human  voice." 

"  What  makes  him  prick  up  his  ears  now 
and  start  forward  ?" 

"  It  is  because  his  ear  is  quicker  than  yours 
or  mine.  There  is  another  horse  on  the  road, 
and  he  hears  him  coming  round  the  bend,  and 
is  not  disposed  to  be  passed.  Now  you  hear 
what  he  heard  at  first." 

"  Oh,  will  he  want  to  run  to  keep  ahead  ?" 
said  Salinda,  with  a  slight  suspicion  that  her 
horsemanship  might  be  insufficient  in  a  race. 

"  Not  unless  you  wish  him.  He  is  ready 
for  a  word  of  command.  Speak  to  him  as  you 
give  a  gentle,  though  sudden,  pull  on  the  bit. 


NKW  TURN-OUT.  163 

Ned,  steady,  sir.  You  see  how  easily  he  sub- 
sides. Ah,  there  they  come ;  a  dashing  pair 
of  pampered  greys,  and  open  barouche,  with 
driver  in  livery." 

"  Oh,  father,"  said  Lillie,  looking  back,  "  it 
is  the  Doolittles,  with  their  new  turn-out. 
Mrs.  I).,  Kitty,  and  Triphenia,  with  her 
bearded  beau." 

"  Has  Doolittle  bought  that  establishment?" 
said  Mr.  Savery.  "  The  man  is  crazy.  I 
understand  now  how  it  is  that  Tom  Whip  was 
hawking  Doolittle's  notes  for  fifteen  hundred 
dollars,  through  the  streets,  at  twenty-five  per 
cent,  discount.  A  man  doing  a  business  cer- 
tainly not  worth  over  two  thousand  dollars  a 
year — a  mere  mechanic — and  a  hard-working, 
honest  mechanic,  too — for  that  is  Doolittle's 
character,  if  it  is  not  his  name — to  buy  a  fifteen 
hundred  dollar  carriage  and  horses,  just  to 
gratify  his  weak-minded,  vain  wife,  and  badly- 
educated,  proud  daughters — the  thought  is 
sickening.  Poor  Doolittle  !  the  best  wish  that 
I  can  give  him,  in  all  honesty  of  heart,  for  I 
do  feel  that  I  am  an  old  friend,  is  that  he  may 
never  live  to  see  the  ruin  that  is  rapidly  coming 


164  HCONOMY    II.LUSTKATED. 

upon  his  family.  No  mortal  hand  can  avert  it. 
If  the  Maine  law  had  been  in  force  ten  years 
ago,  his  reasoning  faculties  might  have  been 
saved.  Without  being  thought  a  drinking 
man,  he  has  taken  enough  to  ruin  his  intellect, 
and  leave  him  an  easy  prey  to  the  folly  of  his 
gad-about,  do-nothing,  instead  of  Doolittle. 
wife.  The  man  is  mined." 

It  is  not  likely  that  the  load  of  jewel-bediz- 
zened  pride  that  swept  by  in  their  velvet-cush- 
ioned, easy  carriage,  as  they  looked  out  from 
the  cloud  of  silks  and  laces,  upon  the  occu- 
pants of  that  humble  wagon,  had  an  idea  that 
the  time  would  ever  come  to  them  again, 
when  they  would  be  obliged  to  travel  in  so 
mean  a  conveyance,  as  a  plain  one-horse 
buggy. 

"  Oh,  Kitty  !  for  mercy  sake  give  me  my 
smelling-bottle,  or  I  shall  faint ;"  said  Triphe- 
nia,  as  their  carriage  swept  by,  bringing  her 
as  she  sat  forward,  almost  face  to  face  with 
Saliuda. 

"Dear  me!"  said  her  mother  and  sister, 
"what  is  the  matter?  You  look  pale.  "We 
had  better  drive  back  to  town  at  once — the 


THE    DOOLITTLES'    REFLECTIONS.  165 

country  air  never  agreed  with  Triphenia — she 
is  so  delicate." 

She  was  eighteen,  and  weighed  a  hundred 
and  thirty-five,  and  if  she  looked  pale,  it  was 
the  pale  of  fuller's  earth  or  pearl  white.  She 
was  too  much  affected  to  answer  her  mother's 
anxious  inquiries  after  her  health,  and  so  Mr. 
George  Alexander  Waltringham,  the  "  gentle- 
man from  the  South,"  ventured  to  suggest  that 
"  those  vulgar  people  in  that  wagon — that  one- 
horse  wagon — had  pretended  to  try  to  recog- 
nize her  as  an  acquaintance,  which  had  shocked 
her  very  susceptible  nervous  system.  There 
was  a  very  bold,  forward,  pert  young  miss, 
some  country  gawky,  I  suppose,  sitting  on  the 
forward  seat  with  a  common-looking  sort  of 
man,  driving  the  horse,  while  he  took  it  easy. 
We  never  see  such  things  in  Georgia.  I  think 
it  was  the  vulgar  look  of  the  thing  that  made 
her  feel  faint." 

"  Yes,  mother  ;  and  I  think  you  would  have 
fainted  too,  if  you  had  seen  what  I  did.  That 
girl  that  George  Alexander  describes  so  cor- 
rectly, was  Salinda  Love  well,"  driving  that  old 
lumber  wagon  of  the  Saverys,  with  the  whole 


166  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

family  packed  up  together.  Don't  you  think 
the  merchant's  daughter  is  coming  down  in 
the  world?  I  hope  you  don't  blame  U8  now 
for  cutting  her  acquaintance.  I  really  don't 
know  what  the  world  is  coming  to.  I  could 
not  have  believed  it  if  I  had  not  seen  it  with 
my  own  eyes.  It  is  enough  to  make  any  one 
feel  faint,  who  knows  what  good  society  is." 

Good  society!!  Heaven  bless  us!  Five 
years  ago,  the  Doolittle  family  would  have 
been  very  glad  to  ride  in  as  good  a  wagon 
with  a  borrowed  horse.  JS^ow  they  rolled 
away  in  a  very  atmosphere  of  their  own,  that 
shut  out  all  reminiscences  of  scenes  of  early 
life  and  old  acquaintances. 

Doolittle  himself,  was  an  honest,  hard-work- 
ing mechanic,  but  lacking  that  stability  of 
mind  which  would  have  enabled  him  to  resist 
the  outside  pressure  of  a  weak-minded,  proud 
woman,  who  was  bringing  up  her  children  in 
idleness  and  frivolity,  he  had  been  forced  to 
abandon  a  comfortable  country  home,  for  a 
fashionable  city  residence  and  an  expensive 
mode  of  living,  that,  notwithstanding  his  large 
increase  of  business  would  lead  him  to  one 


TALK    ON    THE    EOAD.  107 

inevitable  result — one  that  sooner  or  later 
overtakes  every  one  who  lives  beyond  his 
income. 

For  a  man,  situated  as  Doolittle  was,  to  buy 
a  pair  of  horses  and  carriage,  Savery  looked 
upon  as  only  one  remove  from  insanity. 

"  I  do  not  envy  them,"  said  Salinda,  as  they 
sailed  away  past  the  humble,  yet  very-  com- 
fortable wagon  in  which  she  was  fTcling. 

"  You  need  not,"  replied  Mr.  Savery,  "  but 
they  will  you,  if  all  of  you  live  five  years. 
Have  you  ever  visited  the  family  ?" 

"  I  have  not,  though  frequently  urged  to  do 
so  by  Mrs.  Doolittle  and  the  girls,  who  often 
call  upon  my  mother.  I  don't  know  that  I 
should  be  welcome  now,  as  I  was  told  they 
intended  to  cut  my  acquaintance,  after,  as 
they  said,  I  had  turned  kitchen  girl" — 

"  For  the  Saverys.  Put  it  all  in  ;  we  heard 
of  it,  but  did  not  feel  offended,"  added  Mrs. 
Savery.  "  Depend  upon  it,  if  we  should  call 
there,  we  should  be  in  danger  of  being  eaten 
up  if  we  were  sugar,  they  would  be  so  sweet 
upon  us." 

"  I  wish,  wife,  that  you  would  try  it ;  as 


168  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

everything  is  judged  by  contrast,  it  would  be 
well  for  Salinda  to  learn  how  others  live,  as 
well  as  those  she  is  associated  with." 

"Oh,  there  is  grandmother,"  exclaimed 
Frank,  a  good  deal  more  interested  in  looking 
ahead  for  the  first  sight  of  that  much  honored 
old  lady,  than  anything  his  father  and  mother 
were  saying  about  the  Doolittles,  or  anybody 
else. 

Mrs.  Whitlock  was  a  lady  in  the  true  mean- 
ing of  that  tenn.  She  was  of  the  old  Puritan 
stock.  For  a  dozen  years  she  had  been  a 
widow,  but  in  all  that  appertained  to  the  man- 
agement of  the  farm,  a  scrutinizing  neighbor 
said  he  could  see  no  change  since  her  husband's 
death. 

Mr.  Whitlock  was  a  man  of  rare  good  sense. 
Years  before  his  death,  he  made  his  will.  It 
was  short  and  pertinent.  "  My  wife,"  he  said. 
"  has  been  thirty  years  my  partner  in  business, 
and  in  company  we  have  accumulated  some 
property.  If  she  dies  first,  the  law  gives  me 
the  entire  management,  without  noticing  her 
death  any  more  than  it  would  the  death  of  my 
horse.  If  I  die  first,  she  is  accounted  by  law 


A   SENSIBLE    WILL.  169 

as  nobody,  and  barely  permitted  to  have  a  little 
portion  of  what  I  leave.  All  the  property 
must  be  sold,  whether  anybody  wishes  it  or 
not.  The  sanctuary  of  the  house  is  invaded  by 
strangers,  to  make  an  inventory  of  all  I  may 
leave  behind.  The  law  does  not  permit  my  old 
partner  to  carry  on  my  old  business,  for  the 
benefit  of  our  children,  or  creditors.  The  con- 
cern must  be  broken  up.  Such  is  the  law. 
Therefore,  I  make  a  will.  This  the  law  must 
execute.  I  constitute  my  aforesaid  partner,  my 
sole  heir,  executor,  and  guardian  of  my  child- 
ren and  property.  I  trust  she  will  continue 
the  partnership  business,  if  she  deems  it  advisa- 
ble, just  so  long  as  she  considers  it  profitable, 
and  that  she  will  pay  all  my  debts,  and  dispose 
of  my  property,  which  will  then  be  solely  hers, 
in  just  such  a  manner  as  she  sees  proper." 

Every  man  that  has  such  a  wife,  should 
make  such  a  will. 

Mrs.  "VVhitlock  was  in  the  front  porch  when 
the  wagon  drove  up.  It  was  such  an  unu- 
sual thing  for  her  to  come  out  to  see  a  car- 
riage pass,  that  she  felt  as  though  she  must 
apologize  for  such  an  idle  curiosity. 


170  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED, 

The  children  could  hardly  wait  for  the  wagon 
to  stop,  before  they  were  out,  and  through  the 
gate,  and  up  the  steps,  to  give  grandmother 
the  first  kiss.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Savory  both 
greeted  the  old  lady  in  the  same  way.  The 
children  came  naturally  by  their  affectionate 
dispositions. 

"  And  this,"  said  the  old  lady,  "  is  Nat 
Lovewell's  daughter.  I  knew  her  mother  be- 
fore she  was  her  age.  I  am  really  happy  on 
her  account,  to  welcome  you  to  my  house. 
Come  in.  I  need  not  ask  if  you  are  all  well 
— your  countenances  tell  that." 

"  Oh,  grandma,  were  you  out  looking  for 
us?" 

"  No  indeed,  for  I  did  wot  know  you  were-' 
coming.  I  was  going  to  send  the  things  down 
by  Sam  this  evening.  But  I  am  very  glad 
you  have  come,  for  now  you  can  pick  the  ber- 
ries yourselves  ;  I  know  you  will  like  that. 

"  I  was  out  looking  at  that  splendid  carriage 

— no,  not  at  the  carriage,  either,  exactly ;  but 

Sam  had  been  telling  me  about  it,  and  just 

'then  Debby  saw  it  coming,  and  insisted  that  I 

should  come  out  and  look  ;  at  the  same  time 


THE   WELCOME   TO   THE   FARM-HOUSE.       171 

quoting  the  old  proverb  repeated  by  Sam,  of 
'  put  a  beggar  on  horseback  and  he  will  ride 
to  the  devil.'  You  know  Sam  feels  a  little 
bitter  towards  the  Doolittles  since  Triphenia 
jilted  him  for  her  '  Southern  planter,'  as  she 
calls  him,  though  Sam  insists  upon  it  that  he 
is  nothing  but  a  blackleg,  horse-racer,  and  I 
don't  know  what  all.  Well,  well,  never  mind 
the  Doolittles — I  am  heartily  glad  that  my  son 
is  clear  of  his  engagement  to  marry  one  of 
them,  for  I  think  they  will  all  go  to  ruin. 

"  Now,  children,  you  go  and  pick  the  ber- 
ries, and  I  will  get  the  smear-case  ready,  and 
your  mother,  and — what  is  your  name  ?  for  I 
never  can  call  you  Miss  Lovewell — may  take 
a  walk  round,  or  sit  here  until  I  get  through 
my  work.  I  want  you — Salinda,  is  it? — to 
feel  at  home,  and  never  mind  me.  You  are  just 
as  welcome  as  though  I  made  a  fuss  about  it." 

"  Can't  we  help  you,  mother,  about  your 
work?" 

"  Oh,  la  !  no.  I  don't  want  any  help.  Deb- 
by  will  get  the  Butter  ready.  She  is  working 
it  over  now.  I  can  hear  her  patting  with  the 
butter  ladle." 


172  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

"  Can  t  we,"  said  Salinda,  "  go  out  among 
the  chickens,  and  in  the  orchard,  and  look 
through  the  garden  ?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  do.  Yon  will  find  the  calves  in 
that  lot.  I  do  think  our  old  yellow  cow's  calf 
this  year,  excels  any  former  one.  The  butcher 
offered  me  twelve  dollars,  a  week  ago,  but  I 
told  him  that  I  should  make  it  better  worth 
fifteen.  He  laughed,  and  said  he  didn't  doubt 
it.  Then  we  have  such  a  lot  of  pigs — real 
butter-milk  pigs.  Sam  says  they  will  sell  in 
a  month  from  now  at  a  better  profit  than  after 
they  have  eaten  ten  bushels  of  corn  apiece. 
I  reckon  there  is  something  in  it.  The  true 
economy  of  farming  is  to  sell  things  when  they 
bring  the  most  profit,  not  when  they  bring  the 
most  money.  Oh,  do  go  and  look  at  my  lambs, 
Jotham,  you  used  to  be  so  fond  of  lambs  whea 
you  lived  at  home." 

Finally,  all  the  others  concluded  that  they 
wanted  to  see  the  lambs  and  calves,  and  pigs, 
and  chickens,  and  so  they  would  all  go  togeth- 
er ;  but  Mrs.  Whitlock  said,  "  You  forget,  chil- 
dren, one  of  my  precepts.  Always  do  your 
work  first  and  play  afterwards.  You  have 


THE   OLD    FAKM-HOU8E   DESCRIBED.         173 

your  berries  to  pick,  and  you  are  to  have  just 
as  many  as  you  choose  to  gather.  Better  do 
that  first." 

"  So  we  had,  mother,"  said  Mrs.  Savery, 
"  and  therefore  we  will  all  go  and  do  that,  and 
then  do  our  running  about." 

"  That  is  very  well.  Many  hands  make 
light  work,  is  another  of  my  maxims.  You 
know  where  to  find  the  baskets,  and  while  you 
are  about  it,  you  may  pick  enough  for  our 
tea."  • 

She  said  truly,  that  they  knew  where  to  find 
the  baskets.  Everybody  that  ever  knew  once 
might  know  in  all  future  time  ;  for  everything 
had  a  place,  and  everything  when  used  must 
be  returned  to  its  place.  It  was  no  wonder 
that  order  was  the  law  of  Mrs.  Savery's  house. 
She  inherited  it  from  her  mother. 

Every  tree,  shrub,  vine,  plant,  all  partook 
of  the  same  appearance  of  order,  neat  arrange- 
ment, taste,  and  adaptation  to  their  several 
situations. 

The  house  was  one  of  those  old-fashioned 
ones,  still  common  in  New  England,  which, 
for  a  farm-house  it  is  difficult  to  improve.  The 


4  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

objection  to  them  now  is  that  since  wood  has 
grown  scarce,  it  costs  too  much  to  keep  up  the 
fire  in  the  great  chimney  in  the  centre  of  the 
house  ;  upon  each  side  of  which  in  front,  there 
is  a  "  square  room,"  one  of  which  is  the 
"  spare  room,"  and  the  other  the  "  common 
room."  Behind  the  chimney  is  a  great 
kitchen,  with  its  enormous  fire-place  and  oven. 
At  one  end  of  the  kitchen  is  the  stairway,  and 
passage  to  the  "  end  door,"  and  a  buttery  ;  and 
at  the  other  end  is  a  bed-room.  There  is  a 
"  settle  "  on  one  side  of  the  fire-place,  and  a 
blue  dye-tub  in  one  corner.  A  long,  heavy 
oak  table  stands  by  the  windows,  with  a  back 
seat,  a  bench  fixed  to  the  wall.  There  is  a 
"  lean  to  "  behind  for  a  milk-room  and  sink 
room,  just  outside  of  which  is  the  great  stone- 
walled well,  where 

"  The  old  oaken  bucket,  the  iron-bound  bucket," 

Jangles  from  the  long  pole  and  great  crotch 
and  sweep.  Then  comes  the  "  clothes-yard," 
a  broad  piece  of  turf,  as  smootli  as  a  carpet. 
Even  here,  order  and  economy  are  exhibited 
in  saving  the  clothes  line  from  the  weather,  or 


A   NEW   ENGLAND   HOME.  175 

necessity  of  taking  it  down  by  hand  and  carry- 
ing it  into  the  house.  Upon  the  post  near  the 
well  there  is  a  little  box,  enclosing  a  wheel 
with  a  crank,  with  which  the  hundred  feet  of 
line  can  be  wound  in  one  minute.  When  it  is 
wanted  it  is  run  out  in  as  little  time  over  the 
forks  in  the  top  of  the  posts,  and  a  loop  hitch- 
ed over  a  pin  at  the  farther  end.  Then  a  turn 
of  the  wheel  and  a  catch  tightens  and  holds  it 
so. 

Beyond  the  clothes  yard  and  on  a  lower 
level  lies  the  garden.  A  drain  from  the  house 
carries  all  the  waste  water  to  a  tank  in  the 
garden,  and  every  rain  that  falls  washes  any 
little  fertilizing  matter  on  or  about  the  house, 
down  to  the  garden,  where  it  will  do  good. 

The  house,  as  all  country  houses  should  do, 
when  it  is  feasible,  fronts  the  north.  This 
gives  the  genial  sun  to  the  kitchen  side,  where 
it  is  most  needed  to  evaporate  moisture,  and 
look  into  the  broad  kitchen  windows  on  mid- 
winter day. 

To  the  west  of  the  garden  was  "  the  little 
orchard,"  and  across  the  road  north  of  the 
house,  spread  out  the  big  orchard.  In  front 


176  ECOXUMV    IIXUSTliATED. 

of  the  house,  and  along  both  sides  of  the  road 
the  full  length  of  the  farm,  there  were  two 
rows  of  trees,  alternating  with  elms,  maples, 
mulberry,  butternut,  black-walnut,  and  several 
great  cherry-trees,  and  one  very  large  pear- 
tree,  and  three  excellent,  autumn  apples. 
These  were  all  planted  by  Mr.  Whit-lock,  as 
he  said,  for  the-  public.1  His  children,  or 
grand-children  u  uiild  see  the  benefit  of  them, 
and  how  much  they  would  be  valued.  ]!sot 
only  his  children,  but  himself  lived  to  see 
many  a  panting  horse  reined  up  in  the  pleas- 
ant shade  of  some  of  those  trees,  to  recuperate 
strength  for  a  drive  over  a  long  sunny  road. 

Many  a  tired  traveller,  no  doubt,  sent  up 
his  thank-offering  for  the  refreshing  luxury  of 
that  way-side  fruit. 

Planting  shade-trees  and  fruit-trees  by  the 
wayside,  ought  to  be  inculcated  as  a  Christian 
duty. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  house  commenced 
the  farm  buildings.  The  first  was  a  neat 
wagon-house  next  the  road,  two-stories  high, 
the  upper  loft  a  seed-room,  and  place  to  store 
wool  and  various  other  things.  From  the 


FARM-BUILDINGS.  177 

wagon-house  extended  a  long  shed,  where  dry 
wood  was  always  stored.  In  one  end  was  a 
room  called  the  shop,  containing  a  carpenter's 
bench  and  tools,  a  portable  forge,  and  a  set  of 
tools  for  mending  harness,  or  saving  a  shilling 
by  a  stitch  in  time  in  a  pair  of  shoes.  At  the 
other  end  was  a  room  with  a  kettle  set  in  an 
arch,  which  was  used  for  making  soap,  trying 
out  fat,  and  cooking  food  for  the  pigs,  which 
occupied  a  pen  on  the  other  side  of  the  build- 
ing, communicating  with  the  barn-yard 
beyond,  or  with  the  little  orchard,  where  they 
were  allowed  to  run,  except  when  the  fruit 
was  ripe  and  falling  from  the  trees.  Con- 
nect^d  with  the  pig-pen  was  the  hen-house, 
and  beyond  that  a  large  yard  in  which  they 
could  be  shut  whenever  it  was  desirable  to 
keep  them  out  of  the  garden.  One  side  of  the 
poultry -yard  was  formed  by  the  corn-crib, 
with  an  opening  for  them  under  the  building, 
so  that  every  grain  that  fell  was  not  wasted, 
but  was  picked  up  by  some  sharp-eyed  biddy, 
always  watching  fur  a  chance  grain. 

''If  you  keep    liens,"  said  Mr.  Whitlock, 
"  under  the  crib,  you  will  not  keep  rats  or 
S* 


178  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

mice.  It  is  only  a  question  of  which  is  most 
profitable." 

The  bam  was  a  pattern  of  convenience. 
The  milking-yard  was  between  the  wood-shed 
and  barn.  The  stable-yard  on  the  south  side, 
the  stables  occupying  a  basement.  A  rise  of 
ground  on  the  north  side,  gave  a  roadway,  by 
a  slight  inclined  plane,  to  the  second  story  of 
the  barn.  When  a  load  of  hay  was  driven  in, 
the  driver  without  any  assistance,  could  hitch 
a  tackle-block  to  the  wagon-bed,  and  detach  his 
team  and  hitch  them  to  the  fall,  and  start 
them  forward,  lifting  the  whole  load,  which 
then  swung  round  by  a  crane  over  the  great 
bay,  when  by  a  simple  contrivance  the  ropes 
on  one  side  unhooked,  and  down  dropped  the 
whole  load.  In  this  way,  in  fifteen  minutes, 
he  could  unload  and  start  out  for  another. 
Thus  a  hundred  tons  could  be  put  under  shel- 
ter without  any  of  the  hard  work  and  heavy 
expense  of  pitching  and  stowing  away. 

One  of  the  things  that  most  grieved  Mr. 
Whitlock  about  his  barn  and  stable  arrange- 
ments was  that  he  had  no  hill-side  spring  that 
he  could  lead  through  pipes  to  every  animal 


THE    WINDMILL.  179 

as  it  stood  in  the  stall.  If  he  had  had  a  spring 
a  hundred  feet  lower  down  than  his  stable,  he 
could  have  still  got  a  supply  by  means  of  that 
curious  and  very  valuable  little  hydraulic 
machine,  the  "  Water-ram."  But  his  situation 
afforded  neither  one  nor  the  other ;  but  he  did 
the  next  best  thing  that  he  could  do  ;  he  made 
extensive  cisterns  near  the  barn,  but  the  water 
had  to  be  pumped  up  by  hand.  His  spirit 
perhaps  now  looks  down  to  see  how  Sam 
and  his  mother,  by  the  aid  of  scientific  dis- 
coveries, have  obviated  this  difficulty.  On  the 
top  of  the  barn  is  one  of  "  Halliday's  Wind 
Engines,"  a  newly  invented  windmill,  that 
regulates  its  own  sails  to  any  wind,  high  or 
low,  and  pumps  a  constant  stream  of  water 
up  to  a  reservoir  in  the  barn,  so  situated  that 
it  is  covered  with  hay  in  winter  and  never 
freezes,  and  from  which  water  can  be  drawn 
to  every  stall,  pig-pen,  poultry-yard,  and  for 
the  cows  in  the  milking  lot.  It  is  a  cheap, 
valuable,  labor-saving  machine.  Its  use  is 
true  economy. 

"  Mother,"  said  Mrs.  Savery,  as  they  came 
in  with  their  baskets  full  of  the  ripe  fruit.    "I 


180  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

have  never  known  your  strawberries  so  plenty 
and  fine-flavored  as  this  year;  how  do  you 
account  for  it?" 

"  We  read  in  the  newspaper,  that  the  straw- 
berry bed  should  never  be  manured  in  any 
way  except  with  decayed  wood  or  leaves,  and 
that  spent  bark  from  the  tanner's  yard  was 
first-rate.  This  is  the  second  year  that  we 
have  tried  it,  and  in  addition  to  that,  this  sum- 
mer, Samuel  waters  them  with  a  decoction  of 
fresh  oak  bark,  because  he  read  that  tannic 
acid  was  necessary  to  give  strawberries  that 
rich  flavor.  The  experiment  has  cost  nothing, 
and  the  profit  is  incalculable.  It,  with  the 
frequent  waterings  he  gives  them,  will  more 
than  double  the  yield  of  the  bed.  By  the  by, 
that  last  improvement  was  your  suggestion, 
Jotham ;  so  that  we  can  well  aiford  to  give 
you  all  that  you  want.  Now  remember, 
if  your  little  bed  does  not  give  you  all 
that  you  can  cat,  you  must  send  out  here  and 
get  a  supply.  It  is  a  great  deal  more  pleasure 
to  me  to  give  them  to  you  than  to  sell  them. 
Why  what  started  Frank  and  Lillie  off  on  the 
run  ?  Oh,  I  see  now,  they  got  a  glimpse  of 


UNCLE    SAM    AND    THM    CHILDREN.  181 

their  uncle  Samuel,  coming  through  the 
orchard.  There  he  is  like  a  playful  boy,  down 
on  the  grass,  with  both  of  them  on  his  lap. 
He  will  dirty  Lillie's  frock,  I'll  warrant,  or 
s»me  mischief.  I  do  wish  Sam  was  married, 
and  had  some  children  of  his  own,  if  he  would 
love  them  as  well  as  he  does  your's,  Mary." 

"  If  it  warn't  for  one  thing,  mother,  I  could 
find  a  match  that  would  please  you." 

"  Oh  yes,  I  understand,  but  Charley  Good- 
man is  just  as  good  a  man  as  Sam  Whitlock, 

and here  Salinda  began  to  get  uneasy. 

Oh  you  need  not  blush  to  own  such  a 
young  man  as  your  lover.  I  do  wish  it  was 
the  fashion,  as  soon  as  a  couple  are  betrothed, 
to  own  it  to  their  friends,  and  treat  each  other, 
and  be  treated  accordingly.  It  would  be  a 
very  happy  pleasant  state  of  society,  and  often 
lead  to  better  results  than  the  present  fashion. 
Besides  it  would  avoid  lying." 

Samuel  now  came  in,  as  his  mother  said,  as 
rough  as  a  bear,  with  his  long  beard,  and 
dirty  as  a  pig  from  a  week's  toil  on  the  farm, 
yet  when  introduced  to  Salinda,  in  her  eyes, 
he  dropped  all  the  roughness  of  the  farm,  for 


182  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

she  only  saw  and  heard,  a  most  polite  well- 
bred  gentleman,  well  read,  and  full  of  intelli- 
gence upon  every  subject. 

"  Is  'it  possible,"  she  thought,  "  that  this  is 
the  man  that  I  have  heard  so  ridiculed  by  the 
Doolittles,  as  Triphenia's  country  beau.  Why 
he  is  as  much  superior  to  that  fop  of  her's,  as 
man  is  superior  to  a  monkey." 

It  is  well,  Charley  Goodman,  that  you  are 
firmly  seated  in  her  heart,  for  there  is  one 
beneath  that  rough  exterior  that  beats  in  uni- 
son with  hers.  If  it  was  free,  it  might  be 
won,  for  she  likes  the  man,  and  is  fairly  in 
love  with  his  country  home. 

What  a  table  they  sat  down  to  about  six 
o'clock.  Strawberries  and  sugar,  strawberries 
and  cream,  strawberries  and  such  nice  cool 
milk,  for  I  forgot  to  mention  the  ice-house,  one 
of  the  luxuries  and.  economies  of  every  farm. 

Then  such  sweet  butter  and  fresh-baked  rye 
and  Indian  bread,  and  old  style  light  biscuit. 

When  the  butter  was  commended,  the  old 
lady  told  how  she  made  it. 

"  I  have  tried  churning  sweet  milk,  and  I 
have  churned  my  cream  sweet,  and  I  have 


BUTTEK   AND    SMEAR   CASE.  183 

kept  it  till  it  soured.  I  have  washed  my  but 
ter,  and  I  have  made  it  without  washing,  and 
after  all  I  could  not  lay  down  any  fixed  rule 
for  everybody  to  follow.  If  I  get  every  drop 
of  buttermilk  out,  either  by  washing  and 
working,  or  working  alone,  my  butter  will 
keep  sweet  a  year.  This  was  made  of  sweet 
cream,  and  worked  once  with  a  paddle,  and 
salted  with  an  ounce  of  fine  rock  salt  to  a 
pound,  and  a  spoonful  of  fine  white  sugar, — 
that  is  Debby's  notion — I  don't  think  it  hurts 
it  any." 

"  And  this,  that  you  call  smear  case,  how 
is  it  made  ?" 

"You  saw  Debby,  when  you  were  in  the 
milk-room,  emptying  the  bonny-klauber  in 
the  brass  kettle.  That  is  brought  to  a  scald, 
and  the  curd  settles  down  and  the  whey  rises. 
We  pour  off  all  we  can,  and  then  turn  the 
whole  out  in  a  strainer  over  the  whey-tub  and 
let  it  drain  an  hour  or  two." 

"  Is  that  all,  grandma  ?" 

"  Oh  no ;  it  is  then  tied  up  and  hung  away 
to  drain  all  night.  It  is  then  in  quite  a  hard 
cake.  This  we  crumble  up  by  hand,  and  add 


184:  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

about  a  gill  of  cream  to  a  quart,  with  a  little 
salt,  and  that  is  smear  case;  it  is  the  Dutch  of 
soft  cheese.  If  we  want  to  send  it  to  market, 
we  make  it  up  in  little  round  balls  and  lay  them 
between  two  clothes,  and  put  a  board  and 
weight  on  top  to  press  them  down  into  little 
cakes,  like  small  biscuit,  and  these  are  called 
cottage  cheese,  or  Dutch  cheese.  Sometimes 
the  cream  is  entirely  omitted.  It  is  a  good 
wholesome  food  for  those  that  like  it." 

"  Of  which  I  am  one,  said  Salinda ;  though 
I  never  tasted  any  so  good  as  this  before." 

"The  enjoyment  of  eating  is  greatly  owing 
to  surrounding  circumstances ;  I  don't  think 
I  could  relish  my  food  as  well,  where  I  knew 
that  neatness  never  had  an  abiding-_place. 
This  is  economical  food,  for  we  only  value  milk 
after  we  have  got  the  cream,  for  pig  feed.  Do 
you  prefer  that  brown  bread  to  the  biscuit  ? 
That  is  what  I  call  my  half  and  half — equal 
parts  of  corn  meal  and  rye,  the  bran  of  each 
only  sifted  out.  Scald  the  meal  and  mix  it 
thoroughly  into  a  mush,  and  then  add  the  rye, 
and  knead  it  well.  You  can't  make  bread 
without  hard  work.  I  used  to  do  that,  but  I  am 


TIME    TO    GO.  185 

not  strong  enough  now,  but  Debby  is.    She  is 
a  right  good  girl  for  strong  work." 

"  I  guess,  mother,  we  must  be  going,  to  get 
home  before  dark." 

"  Well,  I'spose  you  must.  I  am  really 
'bliged  to  you  for  this  visit.  I  shall  not  urge 
you  to  stay  longer,  because  I  know  its  time 
you  were  going." 

"  Indeed  Mrs.  Whitlock,  I  think  the  obliga- 
tion is  all  on  our  side." 

"  Oh  no,  Salinda,  remember  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  receive.  And  besides, 
you  don't  know  how  much  it  does  an  old 
woman's  heart  good,  to  have  her  children  come 
back  to  the  old  homestead,  and  sit  around  the 
same  table  once  more.  And  as  for  you,  I 
really  wish  you  would  come  every  week,  or 
for  the  matter  of  that,  every  day.  You  have 
done  a  sight  of  good." 

"  "Why  how?  I  don't  understand  a  word." 

"  I  will  leave  it  for  Lillie,  the  young  rogue, 
to  tell  you.  She  says  :  grandma,  do  see  how 
uncle  Sam  is  fixed  up,  all  out  of  compliment 
to  Salinda." 

It  was  not  that  altogether,  it  was  the  natu- 


186  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

ral  homage  and  respect  of  a  noble  heart  to 
beauty,  intelligence  and  worth.  It  was  the 
evidence  of  good  breeding,  often  found  under 
the  roughest  exteriors  upon  American  farms. 
Sam  "Whitlock  the  farmer,  would  be,  always 
will  be,  Samuel  Whitlock  the  gentleman  born, 
gentleman  bred,  gentleman  i  n  all  that  makes 
the  character.  He  had  in  his  young  days 
fixed  his  heart  upon  a  girl  who  as  she  grew 
up,  could  not  understand  that  character,  and 
luckily  for  him,  concluded  to  break  her  troth, 
since  which  he  had  fallen  into  habits  of  indo- 
lence, as  regards  the  exterior  appearance  of  a 
gentleman.  Salinda  had  unconsciously  awak- 
ened that  feeling  which  prompts  a  man  to  look 
to  personal  appearance,  and  the  quick  eye  of 
his  mother,  as  well  as  Lillie,  saw  it,  and  felt 
grateful  to  the  object.  She  thought  and  said, 
"  You  have  done  a  sight  of  good." 

Just  as  they  were  going  out  to  the  wagon, 
the  Doolittle  carriage  was  coming  down  the 
road.  Sam  fairly  outdid  his  nature,  in  the 
little  courtesies  of  the  occasion.  Was  there  a 
little  natural  feeling,  to  let  Miss  Triphenia 
see  that  he  was  not  utterlv  disconsolate?  Was 


THE    DOOLITTLES    AT    THE   FARM.  187 

there  on  the  part  of  Salinda,  a  little  desire  to 
assist  him,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  called,  as 
she  was  called,  "  the  shameless  flirt."  The 
girls  would  have  preferred  to  dash  by  with  a 
simple  nod  of  recognition,  but  their  mother 
either  felt  guilty  of  such  rudeness,  and  order- 
ed the  driver  to  rein  up,  or  else  she  saw  the 
baskets  of  tempting  strawberries,  and  was 
prompted  to  the  act  by  a  spirit  of  greediness. 
Let  us  hope  it  was  not  the  latter.  A  stranger 
might1  have  thought  the  new-comers  were  the 
wannest  friends  of  the  family,  so  enthusiastic 
was  their  greeting.  They  were  so  delighted  to 
have  the  opportunity  of  meeting  their  old 
friends  and  neighbors  all  together.  The  girls 
complimented  Salinda  upon  her  skill  in  driv- 
ing, it  was  "  such  an  accomplishment." 

"  If  we  had  such  a  lovely  little  snug  carry- 
all, and  only  one  horse — but  pa  would  have 
two — we  should  certainly  learn  to  drive." 

How  quick  the  wicked  remarks  made  as 
they  drove  past,  had  passed  into  the  ocean  of 
forgetf ulness. 

Those  remarks  were  to  the  backs,  and  these 
to  the  faces  of  those  they  talked  about.  What 


188  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

a  happy  thing  our  thoughts  are  hidden,  and 
half  our  words  unheard. 

Samuel,  as  the  old  lady  remarked,  was  all 
himself  again.  He  was  full  of  life,  and  "just 
as  polite  as  ever."  He  was  sending  a  pang  to 
every  heart  in  the  Doolittle  carriage.  George 
Alexander  Waltingham  in  his  heart  felt  that 
Triphenia  was  a  fool  to  throw  away  such  a 
man,  and  such  a  prospect  of  being  the  mistress 
of  a  house  and  farm  like  this  for  a gam- 
bler. He  almost  spoke  the  word,  so  strongly 
he  thought  of  it.  But  he  covered  up  his 
thoughts  with  his  supercilious  actions,  which 
he  thought  would  pass  well  in  the  present 
company,  as  evidence  of  high  breeding.  Ex- 
cept with  a  fraction  of  the  company,  he  was 
very  much  mistaken.  The  others  thought 
him  just  what  he  was — an  adventurer,  a  fop, 
a  libertine.  He  was  one  of  a  numerous  class, 
that  pluck  flowers  only  for  their  fragrance, 
while  fresh  with  morning  dew,  and  then  cast 
them  away  as  worthless  trash. 

Mrs.  Whitlock  and  her  son,  both  insisted 
upon  the  Doolittles  stopping  for  some-  straw- 
berries. She  had  already  spoken  a  word  to 


THE    CONTRAST.  189 

Debby,  and  she  had  already  reset  the  table, 
while  they  were  making  excuses  for  doing  just 
what  they  were  most  anxious  to  do,  so  that 
by  the  the  time  they  got  in  the  house,  every 
thing  was  ready  for  them  to  sit  right  down  to 
such  a  repast  as  they  most  ardently  desire'd, 
notwithstanding  the  repeated  protestations 
that  they  "  had  not  the  least  occasion  in  the 
world."  And  notwithstanding  the  girls  had 
"  cut  the  acquaintance"  of  Salinda,  she  was 
most  pressingly  urged  to  call  upon  them, 
"  before  they  left  town  on  their  summer  tour." 
Of  course  Mrs.  Savery  and  Lillie  were  includ- 
ed in  the  invitation,  though  Kitty  said  she 
hoped  "  that  stuck-up  school-girl  would  have 
sense  enough  not  to  come."  The  truth  was, 
that  she  felt  herself  the  foil  that  added  lustre 
to  Lillie's  diamonds  of  a  cultivated  mind, 
whenever  they  were  brought  into  contrast. 

"  Speaking  of  contrast,"  said  Mr.  Savery,  "  I 
am  going  to  show  you  the  contrast  of  Mother's 
farm." 

The  man  was  thinking.  Nobody  said  a  word 
about  contrast ;  they  all  thought  of  it  though. 

"It    is    Doolittle's     father's — old    Captain 


190  ECONOMY    ILLUSTKATKD. 

Doolittle — it  is  only  half  a  mile  out  of  the  way, 
and  except  the  half  mile,  the  best  road,  and 
then  you  will  see  a  greater  diversity  of  sce- 
nery too,  and  have  more  food  for  thought. 
This  way.  Ned  knows  the  road." 

"  Do  you  think  that  Mrs.  Doolittle  will  come 
this  way,  father,"  said  Lillie. 

"  Not  a  bit  more  than  she  would  drive 
through  fire.  I  doubt  whether  that  Mr.  What- 
do-you-call  him,  will  ever  hear  that  the  family 
ever  had  any  American  ancestors.  You  know 
they  have  a  coat  of  arms,  and  trace  back  on 
his  side  to  some  remote  baronetcy.  There  is 
not  an  old  castle  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novels, 
that  some  of  the  Doolittle  family  were  not 
connected  with  in  their  opinion.  But  here  is 
the  last  baronial  hall  of  the  family." 

The  house  stood  "  back  side  to  the  road," 
and  a  very  unsightly  show  its  old  wood-colored 
walls,  and  mossy  roof,  and  broken  windows 
made.  The  well  was  in  line  with  the  road- 
fence^  with  a  horse-trough  outside,  and  a  hog- 
wallow  beyond,  that  looked  like  the  slough  of 
despond,  to  any  one  that  would  approach  the 
well  from  that  side.  This  puddle  extended 


THE    DOOLITTLLE    FARMHOUSE.  191 

beyond  the  gate,  and  had  to  be  crossed  on 
rails  thrown  in  the  mud.  The  gate  had  to  be 
lifted  around  upon  one  hinge.  It  was  always 
fastened  with  a  pin,  provided  the  pin  was  not 
lost,  or  the  gate  had  not  been  rooted  open  by 
the  hogs ;  to  prevent  which,  three  dogs  stood, 
or  rather  slept  guard  on  the  portico,  which 
contained  a  great  assortment  of  old  saddles, 
harness,  hoes,  rakes,  wheels,  loom,  old  coats, 
hats  and  boots,  in  a  sort  of  public  free  exhibi- 
tion. 

Beyond  the  well,  on  one  side,  was  the  hog- 
pen, with  an  opening  to  the  road  ;  for  the 
owner  believed  in  the  largest  liberty  for  his 
stock.  On  the  other  side  was  an  open  wagon- 
shed,  where  the  hens  roosted,  and  did  the 
ornamental  work  of  the  go-to-meeting  car- 
riage. Eight  in  front  of  the  gate  was  the 
wood-pile,  frequently  furnished  with  whole 
trees,  snaked  up,  because  the  cart  was  broken, 
or  the  wagon  had  gone  to  mill. 

The  barn  was  right  opposite  the  house,  and 
the  cow-yard  in  the  road  between,  which,  in 
audition  to  the  wood-pile,  was  encumbered 
with  all  the  broken  down  carts,  wagons,  sleds, 


192  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

harrows,  plows,  hay-racks,  fence-posts,  and 
sticks  of  timber,  that  had  been  or  might  be  in 
use  during  the  century.  In  the  summer,  A 
good  part  of  this  chevaux-de-frise  was  hidden 
from  view  by  a  rank  growth  of  stramonium. 

From  the  house  and  barn,  boards  had  fallen, 
or  were  dangling  by  one  nail ;  and  the  orchard 
looked  as  though  nothing  but  the  scythe  of 
Time  had  ever  been  there  as  a  pruning-hook. 

The  garden  palings  had  been  broken,  and 
the  holes  stopped  with  brush  from  the  snaked 
up  trees  at  the  wood-pile.  A  hole  in  the 
orchard  wall  was  patched  with  an  old  cart-bed. 
One  of  the  big  doors  of  the  barn,  which  Mr. 
Savery  said  had  hung  for  a  year  by  one  hinge, 
had  gone  down  at  last,  and  was  propped  up 
sideways  with  a  rail.  An  old  harrow  stood 
guard  in  place  of  a  stable  door,  and  some 
scraggy  poles  at  the  barn-yard  did  service 
where  bars  and  bar-posts  were  both  gone.  A 
swarm  of  bees  were  at  work  in  the  old  chaise- 
box,  not  having  been  able  to  get  any  other 
hive.  That  had  deprived  the  old  lady  of  the 
privilege  of  going  to  meeting  for  the  balance 
of  the  summer.  The  garden  had  been  made, 


FOOD    FOK    THOUGHT.  193 

and  unmade  by  the  hens,  three  times,  and 
then  given  up,  because  "  they  couldn't  afford 
to  be  always  making  garden." 

It  was  a  contrast — it  was  food  for  thought. 
Salinda  went  home  a  wiser  as  well  as  happier 
girl  than  she  went  forth.  She  had  seen  much 
and  learned  much — much  that  is  never  learned 
in  schools.  Schools  that  turn  out  mindless 
machines — expensive  experiments  to  cramp 
reason  out  of  its  natural  purpose.  Schools 
that  teach  music  that  gives  just  as  much 
accomplishment  as  the  hand-organ  possesses. 
Schools  of  design,  that  teach  children  to  badly 
copy  a  bad  picture.  History  and  geography 
is  taught  just  as  much  as  the  parrot  is  taught 
sense  by  repeating  words.  Schools  of  indus- 
try, that  teach  needle-work  that  is  utterly 
impracticable  and  useless  all  through  life. 
Such  is  fashionable  education. 

They  found  company  waiting  for  them  when 
they  got  home.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lovewell,  and 
Charley  Goodman,  were  there.  The  meeting 
was  as  joyful  as  though  they  had  been  sepa- 
rated for  a  year.  Salinda's  mother  met  her 
witli  a  warm  embrace.  Her  father  with  a 
9 


194  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED, 

dignified  smile  and  formal  shake  of  the  hand. 
How  she  did  wish  he  would  press  her  to  his 
breast  as  Mr.  Savery  did.  She  would  have 
put  her  arms  around  Charley's  neck  and  given 
him  a  kiss — a  warm  token  of  love — fear  of 
being  called  forward  held  her  back,  and  made 
her  restrain  nature.  But  she  looked  what  she 
felt,  as  they  shook  hands.  Lillie  felt  no  such 
restraint,  and  she  ran  up  to  him  and  put  her 
arms  fondly  around  his  neck,  and  gave  him 
such  a  kiss ;  laughing  heartily  as  she  said  to 
Salinda,  "  that  is  the  way  to  do  it,  isn't  itr 
Charley." 

Charley  expressed  his  very  high  satisfaction 
at  that  mode  of  salutation,  and  returned  it 
with  a  hearty,  "  God  bless  you,  Lillie,  my  dear 
good  girl.  You  are  as  fragrant  as  a  bed  of 
strawberries." 

"  No  wonder,  and  that  reminds  me."  She 
cast  a  look  at  her  mother,  as  much  as  to  sayr 
Shall  I  ?  Her  mother  looked,  Yes,  and  away 
she  bounded,  returning  in  a  few  minutes  with 
a  fine  dish  of  sugared  strawberries,  followed 
by  Susan  with  plates  and  spoons.  It  was  a 
very  grak't'ul  trejtf  t  the  berries  and  cream 


WAIT    AND   WATCH.  195 

both  so  fresh  and  sweet.  Salinda  said,  "  I 
think,  father,  that  I  can  give  you  something 
that  yon  will  like,  if  possible,  better  than  the 
strawberries." 

"  Oh,  I  know  what  'tis,"  said  Lillie,  and 
away  she  ran  for  the  smearcase.  Instead  of 
one,  she  brought  three  dishes.  Mrs.  Lovewell 
declined,  but  Mr.  Lovewell  said  it  was  deli- 
cious. Of  course,  Susan  had  added  bread 
and  butter.  Charley  told  Lillie  that  he  had 
not  tasted  but  one  thing  better  since  he  came 
in  the  house,  and  tjiat  preceded  the  strawber- 
ries. 

"  You  shall  taste  something  better  still  be- 
fore you  leave.  Wait  and  watch." 

He  had  not  to  wait  long.  Lillie  proposed 
that  he  should  go  and  see  how  neat  Salinda 
had  got  everything  arranged  up  stairs.  "  Oh, 
she  is  getting,  to  be  a  famous  housekeeper. 
Susan  and  her  are  on  great  terms  in  the 
kitchen." 

He  did  admire  the  neat  arrangement.  His 
heart  was  full.  Salinda  stood  before  him, 
more  lovely  than  ever.  It  was  an  impulse  of 
the  moment  that  led  him  to  do  what  he  had 
so  often  ardently  desired  to  do,  yet  dared  not 


196  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

venture.  He  took  her  in  bis  arms,  pressed 
her  fondly  to  his  heart,  and  kissed  her  passion- 
ately. It  was  the  happiest  moment  of  her 
life.  It  was  the  first,  as  she  fondly  hoped,  of 
a  long  series. 

"  My  dear,  dear  little  wife.  How  you  do 
win  upon  my  heart  every  day.  How  much  I 
should  love  you." 

Her  head  sunk  upon  his  breast.  She  was 
in  an  ecstasy  of  delight.  Tears  of  joy  streamed 
down  the  good  Lillie's  cheeks,  and  the  affec- 
tion of  her  heart  gushed  out.  She  too  felt  the 
impulse,  and  she  threw  her  arms  around  both, 
and  as  she  kissed  Salinda,  said  : 

"  Let  me  too  be  happy." 

The  tears  of  the  trio  mingled.  There  were 
other  moist  eyes,  looking  at  this  scene.  Mrs. 
Savery  and  Mrs.  Lovewell,  had  followed  them 
up  stairs,  and  had,  unnoticed,  witnessed  the 
whole  of  this  outgushing  of  nature.  "What 
mother  could  refrain  from  sympathizing  with 
such  children.  Mrs.  Lovewell  did  not  chide, 
she  only  cautioned  prudence.  "  She  had  no 
objection  to  this  show  of  what  their  hearts 
felt,  if  only  indulged  in  presence  of  some  one 
who  would  be  a  little  restraint,  so  that  they 


SATISFACTION.  197 

would  not  act  foolishly,  as  lovers  are  some- 
times inclined  to  do.  Even  in  affection,  there 
should  be  a  degree  of  dignity  and  respect. 
There  is  some  truth  in  the  old  adage,  that 
'  familiarity  breeds  contempt.'  It  is  not  safe 
for  human  nature  to  trust  to  good  resolutions. 
1  do  not  counsel  coldness  and  reserve  between 
an  affianced  couple,  but  such  reserve  as  pro- 
duces respect." 

Mrs.  Lovewell  expressed  a  high  degree  of 
satisfaction  at  all  of  Salinda's  arrangements, 
and  what  she  heard  of  her  disposition  and  pro- 
gress in  the  study  of  the  art  of  housekeeping  : 
and  Charley  felt  that  she  had  never  appeared 
so  lovely  before.  He  knew  very  well  what  a 
good  teacher  she  had,  and  that  she  was  acquir- 
ing accomplishments  of  the  highest  order  for 
an  American  woman,  such  as  no  public  semi- 
nary ever  gives. 

Of  all  the  members  of  that  little  party  that 
night  at  Mr.  Savery's,  it  would  be  difficult  to 
tell  which  went  to  bed  most  happy.  Even 
Mr.  Lovewell,  with  all  his  apparent  coldness, 
had  a  warm  heart,  and  was  most  proud  of  his 
daughter,  and  happy  to  see  her  happy. 


198  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Visit  to  the  Doolittles. 

Nor  long  after  the  above  events,  Mrs.  bavery, 
Salinda,  and  Lillie,  went  to  make  their  visit  to 
the  Doolittles.  Of  course  they  were  received 
with  demonstrations  of  great  delight.  The 
door  was  opened  by  the  coachman,  gardener, 
man  of  all  work,  and  good  at  none — a  useless 
appendage  and  foolish  expense  to  such  a 
family.  He  was  attending  to  this  duty,  as 
Mrs,  Doolittle  apologized,  because  both  of 
their  chamber  girls  had  suddenly  left. 

''•They  were  very  impertinent,  asking  me  for 
their  wages,  time  after  time,  instead  of  waiting 
for  me  to  give  it  them  when  it  was  convenient; 
and,  finally,  this  morning  they  told  Doolittle 
about  it,  and  he,  the  fool,  gave  them  the 
money,  and  no  quicker  than  they  got  it,  they 
both  packed  up  and  cleared  out.  I  do  wish 
men  would  attend  to  their  own  business,  and 


THE    DOOLITTLKS    AT    HOME.  19 

not  undertake  to  manage  our  household  affairs. 
However,  I  am  glad  they  are  gone,  for  they 
had  got  to  be  quite  worthless.  You  can  see 
that  by  the  looks  of  the  house." 

Indeed  it  was  easy  to  see  that  somebody  was 
quite  worthless  about  the  house.  The  parlors 
were  elegantly  furnished,  so  far  as  costly  frail 
furniture  could  make  elegance,  and  that  was  all. 

There  was  scarcely  a  chair  or  sofa  that  was 
not  broken  or  scratched,  or  torn,  and  every 
crevice  showed  the  worthlessness  of  those  whose 
business  it  had  been  to  keep  the  furniture  free 
of  dust  Salinda  counted  five  holes  in  the  lace 
curtains,  punched  by  dirty  fingers.  Perhaps 
they  had  been  made  by  marble  fingers,  for 
several  had  been  broken  from  the  statuettes 
which  ornamented  the  mantels.  There  were 
several  grease  spots  upon  the  carpet,  one  of 
which  bore  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  recent 
fall  of  bread  and  butter.  The  piano  was  out  of 
tune,  because  the  "  children  will  keep  thump- 
ing at  it"  In  short,  the  whole  house  was  out 
of  tune.  About  an  hour  after  the  arrival  of 
their  guests,  •"  the  young  ladies  "  sailed  down 
stairs,  with  a  profusion  of  fancy  gauze,  silk, 


200  ECONOMY    ILL  LSI  Jt  ATI-JO. 

lace,  ribbons,  and  jewelry,  and  their  hair  in 
such  a  friz  as  might  astonish,  if  not  frighten, 
one  of  the  aborigines  of  the  American  forest. 
There  was  no  need  of  half  the  lying  excuses  for 
their  late  appearance  ;  such  as  having  so  much 
work  to  do,  in  consequence  of  the  departure 
of  those  ungrateful  girls,  and  quite  forgetting 
how  late  it  was,  and  how  punctual  Mi's.  Savery 
always  is,  and  how  they  had  to  dress  each 
other's  hair.  Salinda  might  have  believed  the 
latter,  as  it  was  impossible  for  either  to  make 
such  a  fright  of  herself  alone,  if  she  had  not 
caught  a  glimpse  of  a  well-known  French  hair- 
dresser, as  he  went  down  stairs. 

Of  course  the  girls  could  not  show  their  pro- 
ficiency in  music,  because  the  piano  was  out 
of  tune.  Lillie  said  slyly,  that  she  never  knew 
it  otherwise.  It  was  a  standing  excuse.  If  it 
ever  happened  to  be  in  order,  the  girls  always 
had  "  horrid  colds." 

Salinda  proposed  to  look  at  the  garden. 
They  could  not  refuse,  though  it  was  in  a 
"  shocking  condition."  In  that  they  spoke  the 
truth.  But  the  most  shocking  part  of  it  was, 
that  it  was  filled  with  expensive  shrubs  and 


THE   GAEDEN.  v    201 

flowers,  to  such  a  degree  that  there  was  no 
room  for  fruit,  or  anything  beyond  a  few  roses, 
of  any  practical  use. 

Tender  plants  were  choked  with  grass  and 
weeds,  or  trampled  on  by  careless  feet,  and 
those  of  larger  growth  bore  marks  of  having 
officiated  in  place  of  a  clothes-line,  and  the 
paths  were  whitened  with  dried  soap-suds. 
Grease,  dirt,  old  rags,  broken  crockery,  scraps 
of  meat,  and  cooking  utensils  made  up  a  slut's 
museum  around  the  back  basement  door  and 
windows.  The  full  view  was  hidden  from  the 
garden  by  an  untrimmed,  and  of  course  un- 
productive, grape-vine,  that  shut  out  the  sun 
from  the  very  place  where  it  was  most  needed 
to  dry  up  the  moisture  and  prevent  miasma. 

Just  as  the  party  returned  to  the  house, 
there  was  a  tearing  ring  at  the  door-bell,  and 
a  thundering  knock  at  the  basement  door  at 

o 

the  same  time.  As  it  was  doubtful  which  to 
go  to  first,  the  man  took  a  middle  course  and 
went  to  neither.  Directly  those  outside  grew 
impatient,  and  began  kicking  the  doors  as 
though  they  would  knock  them  down  or  force 
them  open. 


ECONOMY     ILLUSTRATED. 

"Why  don't  that  lazy  fellow  go  to  the 
door?"  said  one  of  the  girlsx  "It  is  really 
provoking." 

Why  did  she  not  herself  open  it  when  she 
was  within  three  steps  when  the  bell  rang. 
It  would  have  compromised  her  dignity.  At 
length  the  lower  door  was  opened,  and  by  the 
noise,  a  mad  bull  came  in,  stamping  with  fury. 

"  I'll  tear  your  eyes  out,  you  old  black 
nigger,  if  you  don't  open  the  door  next  time 
when  I  am  starved.  Where  is  Ned  ?  If  he's 
got  in  first,  I'll  lick  him." 

Up  stairs  he  went  to  ascertain  that,  fact. 
No  one  else  being  likely  to  let  in  master 
Neddy,  Mrs.  Doolittle  suggested  to  Kitty  that 
she  might  attend  to  it.  just  this  once.  She 
went  off  muttering  about  having  to  do  ser- 
vant's work.  Master  Ned  came  in  uproari- 
ous, but  better-natured  than  his  lighting 
brother  Welt — the  short  name  of  Wellington. 
Perhaps  his  fighting  character  was  partly 
owing  to  his  name.  Character  is  often  influ- 
enced by  a  slighter  circumstance. 

"  Oh,  you're  so  dressed  up  you  couldn't, 
come  to  the  door,  eh  ?  I'll  pay  you  for  it  some 


THK    BOYS    AT    HOMK.  203 

time,  Miss  Kitty.  I  won't  open  the  door,  nor 
let  any  of  the  rest  of  'em,  for  your  beau,  and 
mother  won't  be  here  to  make  me,  for  you 
always  have  him  come  when  mother  is  out. 
See  if  I  donV 

"  Do  hush,  Ned,  you  don't  know  who  is  in 
the  parlor." 

"  I  don't  want  to  know.  Old  Whiskerandos, 
I  s'pose  ;  he's  here  all  the  time.  I  wish  Phene 
would  have  him  and  done  with  it." 

Mrs.  Doolittle  closed  her  ears  to  this  inter- 
esting conversation,  under  the  impression  pro- 
bably that  by  so  doing  she  would  close  those 
of  her  visitors. 

Either  of  his  sisters  could  have  wrung  Ned's 
neck,  without  any  compunctions  of  conscience. 
ISTow  another  actor,  in  the  person  of  the  mad 
bull,  came  tearing  up  the  basement  stairs,  and 
"pitched  in"  to  give -Ned  a  licking  because 
he  got  in  first,  and  to  servo  Kitty  in  the  same 
way  for  letting  him  in. 

"  He  bet  me  his  cap  that  he  would  get  home 
first,  and  get  in  and  up  to  the  parlor  door;  and 
he  cheated ;  he  had  no  business  to  come  in 
this  way  when  I  thought  he  was  going  to 


204  ECONOMY    ILLUSTKATliD. 

t'other  door,  and  then  we  could  have  a  fail- 
race  up  stairs.  But  I'll  have  the  cap  any- 
how." 

At  that  he  went  at  him  to  get  the  cap,  and 
down  they  both  went  in  the  hall  in  a  regular 
bull-dog,  rough-and-tumble  fight.  Mrs.  Doo- 
little  still  oblivious.  Kitty  had  returned  with 
a  face  that  needed  no  rose  pink.  It  was 
burning  red,  and  she  bit  her  lip  to  keep  in  the 
angry  words  that  would  have  poured  out  if 
they  had  not  been  restrained  by  the  company 
of  strangers. 

"Oh  dear,  what  is  that?"  exclaimed  Mrs. 
Doolittle,  as  a  crash  that  jarred  the  house, 
came  from  the  field  of  combat  in  the  hall. 

Instinctively  all  rushed  out  to  see.  A  niche 
had  been  constructed  in  the  wall  at  the  foot  of 
the  stairs  for  a  piece  of  statuary.  Unfortu- 
nately it  was  too  shallow  to  hold  a  plaster  cast 
of  some  mythological  goddess  that  the  young 
ladies  had  purchased,  because  '•  the  place 
looked  so  naked  without  something." 

Somehow  in  the  scuffle,  this  had  been  jarred 
so  that  it  toppled  over,  and  down  it  came  upon 
a  table,  made  more  for  ornament  than  use, 


INTEKLSTLNU    SCENE.  205 

upon  which  stood  a  Chinese  vase  of  flowers. 
The  whole  was  a  wreck  together.  At  least  fifty 
dollars  had  gone  into  the  maelstrom  that 
was  swallowing  up  poor  Doolittle's  property. 
The  boys  perfectly  understood  that  "discre- 
tion was  the  better  part  of  valor,"  a,nd  made  a 
hasty  retreat.  The  girls  raged — they  lost  their 
discretion.  Their  mother  was  angry  enough 
to  have  torn  the  boys  like  a  tiger,  but  finally 
consoled  herself  for  all  the  loss,  with  the 
thought  that  that  nude  figure  had  been  got 
rid  of,  because  "she  never  thought  it  looked 

'  O 

decent."  Mrs.  Doolittle  was  one  of  those 
admirers  of  statuary,  who  think  it  should  be 
dressed  in  calico  frocks,  or  at  least  wear  aprons. 
In  the  midst  of  the  confusion,  and  just  as  Tri- 
phenia  had  accused  her  mother  of  moving  the 
statue  forward  on  purpose  to  have  it  fall,  and 
she  was  giving  some  angry  retort,  the  door- 
bell rung,  and  before  orders  of  "  not  at  home" 
could  be  given,  the  man,  who  with  the  cook, 
had  both  come  upon  the  scene  of  action,  open- 
ed the  door,  and  in  walked  Mi1.  George  Alex- 
ander Waltringham. 

There  is  an  old  saying,  that  oil  poured  upon 


206  ECONOMY    ILI.USTHATEn. 

a  raging  sea,  will  calm  the  turbulent  waters. 
Perhaps  it  was  owing  to  the  oily  nature  of  the 
gentleman,  that  he  produced  the  same  effect 
upon  the  turbulence  of  the  waves  that  were 
raging  but  a  moment  before  in  this  family. 

The  new  comer  was  not  at  all  disconcerted  ; 
in  fact  he  was  rather  inclined  to  joke  at  the 
accident,  which  he  did  not  look  upon  as  very 
serious, — in  fact  he  had  rather  expected  it ; 
as  he  had  noticed  the  insecurity  of  the  thing, 
which  a  slight  jar  might  bring  down.  He 
forgot  to  add  that  he  had  purposely  moved  it 
forward  with  that  view,  looking  upon  it  as  he 
did,  as  such  an  abortion  that  it  was  no  harm 
to  work  its  destruction. 

It  is  but  right  to  do  him  the  justice  to  say, 
that  he  did  not  anticipate  the  other  damage — 
the  table  had  been  placed  under  the  niche  sub- 
sequently, by  somebody,  or  rather  "nobody," 
that  omnipresent  genius  of  mischief,  who  was 
constantly  putting  things  out  of  place  in  this 
house. 

The  party  left  the  servants  to  clear  away  the 
debris,  and  retired  to  the  parlor  in  such  a 
pleasant  mood  of  lively  conversation,  that 


BEHIND    THE    SCENES.  207 

Salinda  could  only  compare  it  to  the  sudden 
outburst  of  the  sun  from  dark  clouds  that  a 
moment  before  had  shot  forth  forked  light- 
ning. 

In  handling  some  of  the  things,  Salinda  dis- 
covered that  she  had  soiled  her  hands,  and 
whispered  Kitty  to  go  up  to  her  room  with 
her,  where  she  could  wash  them.  It  was  an 
unadvised  admission  behind  the  scenes  of  out- 
side appearances. 

"  Such  a  room,"  she  said  to  Lillie  that  night 
in  their  own  neat  apartment,  "I  never  saw 
before — I  hope  never  to  see  again'.  The  bed 
looked  like  a  pig's  nest;  I  am  sure  it  had  not 
been  made  for  a  week,  and  the  sheets  and 
pillow-cases  were  fairly  black.  Every  vessel 
was  full  of  dirty  slops,  and  the  only  way  that 
I  could  wash  my  hands  was  by  Kitty  pouring 
water  out  of  a  broken  pitcher,  while  I  held 
them  over  a  flower-pot  that  seemed  grateful 
for  the  accidental  watering.  The  whole  room 
looked  like  the  drift  of  an  inundation  of  some 
muddy  river.  Shoes  and  shifts ;  books  and 
bonnets  ;  parasols  and  petticoats  ;  stockings 
and  staylaee  ;  tape  and  towels;  slippers  and 


208  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

slops ;  lay  about  in  one  grand  mixture.  The 
furniture  had  been  costly,  if  not  rich;  now 
there  was  not  a  whole  chair  among  half  a 
dozen,  and  all  were  loaded  with  dresses,  or 
some  of  the  paraphernalia  of  a  lady's  dressing 
chamber.  The  rosewood  dressing  table  stood 
upon  three  legs ;  the  sofa  seat  was  broken  down 
in  the  springs,  and  the  feet  had  lost  the  cas- 
tors, and  torn  the  Turkey  carpet.  The  lace 
window-curtains  were  yellow,  and  covered 
with  dust  and  cobwebs.  But  that  was  no 
worse  than  the  parlor.  Did  you  notice  the 
festoons  the  spiders  had  made  all  along  the 
cornice  over  the  window  ?" 

"  Yes,  and  the  dust  among  the  untouched 
books  on  the  centre  table.  It  would  make 
my  mother  crazy/' 

As  Salinda  returned  to  the  parlor,  there 
was  a  commotion  in  the  tea-room.  Ned  was 
ordering  the  cook,  with  a  few  of  his  young 
gentleman  oaths,  to  give  him  something  from 
the  table  to  eat,  before  the  company  came  in. 
She  heard  him  say  :  "  I  will  have  some — 
they'll  eat  it  all  up — I'm  hungry — I  won't 
wait — I'll  steal  it  all,  and  tell  my  mother  that 


CKAsll.  200 

you  eat  it,  and  make  her  discharge  you,  if  you 
don't  give  me  some,  you  blasted  old  "- 

The  balance  of  the  sentence  was  interrupted 
by  a  scream  from  the  cook.  It  was  a  custard 
in  an  elegant  cut-glass  dish  that  the  boys  cov- 
eted. Bread,  and  butter,  and  cake  would  not 
satisfy  them.  Cook  had  set  the  dish  on -the 
top  shelf  of  the  china  closet,  to  keep  it  out  of 
their  way.  While  Ned  was  trying  to  coax  or 
scold  the  cook  into  gratifying  his  appetite,  his 
brother,  the  mad  bull,  like  his  prototype  in  a 
crockery  store,  had  got  into  the  china  closet, 
and  climbed  up  the  shelves,  and  got  his  hand 
on  the  coveted  article.  It  is  almost  needless 
to  say,  that  just  as  he  sang  out,  "  Hurrah, 
Ned,  I've  got  it,"  lie  did  get  it.  His  foot 
slipped,  and  down  he  came,  dish  and  all,  with 
the  contents  in  his  face  and  all  over  his 
clothes,  and  the  dish  in  fragments  on  the  floor, 

"  I  do  wonder,"  said  Mrs.  Doolittle,  "  what 
that  careless  wench  has  broken  now.  I  shall 
take  it  out  of  her  wages,  she  may  rest  assured 
of  that." 

To  prevent  any  one  else  going  to  see,  she 
said,  "  sit  still,  don't  mind  it ;  you  know  one 


210  KCOXOMV    ILLUSTRATED. 

broken  dish  always  has  another  just  behind 
it,  till  fate  gets  the  three." 

Kitty  lacked  the  discreetness  of  her  mother 
and  sister.  She  had  turned  off  as  she  came 
down  stairs,  "  to  see  what  the  muss  was  ;"  and 
now  came  in  and  told  the  whole  story.  Her 
mother  was  sure  it  was  all  the  cook's  fault. 

"  She  is  always  having  a  difficulty  with 
them  boys.  I  dare  say  if  she  had  given  them 
anything  in  the  world  to  eat,  they  would  have 
gone  away  as  quiet  as  lambs  to  their  play.  I 
declare  I  must  get  a  new  woman — I  can't 
stand  it." 

What  good  would  it  do  to  get  a  new  one  ? 
She  had  done  the  same  thing  a  dozen  times, 
with  the  same  results.  If  she  could  have  got 
a  new  system  of  family  government,  and 
brought  her  children  under  a  wholesome  dis- 
cipline, and  taught  them  subordination,  she 
would  have  saved  herself  from  constant  scenes 
of  vexation  and  loss,  and  then  the  Doolittle 
boys  would  not  have  been  the  terror  of  their 
schoolmates,  and  the  hated  pests  of  the  whole 
neighborhood. 

In   spite   of  all   the   mishaps,   tea   was   at 


TKA     IS    KT.Ain. 


length  ready.  How  unlike  the  quiet  tea-table 
of  the  Saverys  ;  how  different  from  that  plea- 
sant, simple  meal  at  the  farm.  The  table  was 
loaded  with  cut-glass  and  china,  costly  and 
fragile.  But  the  sweet  home-made  bread  and 
plain  cakes  were  not  there.  Their  place  was 
occupied  by  costly  knick-knackeries  from  the 
French  baker's  —  real  health-destroyers.  The 
tea  was  the  only  home-made  thing,  and  that 
was  weak  and  smoky,  and  when  it  was  too 
late  to  remedy  the  defect,  it  was  found  that 
"  nobody  "  had  drank  up  all  the  milk.  Mrs. 
Doolittle  said,  "  she  would  warrant  it  was 
John,  the  great  hog." 

Lillie  did  not  say  she  would  warrant  it  was 
not  ;  but  from  where  she  sat,  she  could  see  the 
face  of  a  boy  peeping  into  the  window  through 
the  grape-vine,  upon  whose  lips  the  stolen 
milk  had  left  its  mark. 

It  was  a  costly,  but  an  unsatisfactory  meal. 
The  cakes  looked  as  though  they  were  made 
for  ornament  and  not  use,  and  so  they  were 
generally  refused.  It  was  not  the  first  time 
they  had  done  service  in  the  same  way.  The 
rich  sweetmeats  were  not  half  as  good  or  as 
healthy  as  Mrs.  Whitlock's  strawberries.  The 


212  ECONOMY    li.LL  bTKATED . 

stiff  attempts  at  geutility  were  not  half  as 
pleasing  as  the  plain  conversation  and  hearty 
manifest  welcome  of  that  meal,  which  con- 
stantly intruded  itself  in  contrast  with  this. 
There  each  lingered,  loth  to  part.  Here  visit- 
ors and  visited  felt  relieved  from  a  tiresome 

V 

restraint  when  the  good-bye,  and  hollow- 
hearted  "  do  come  again,"  had  been  said.  At 
least  one  party  was  wiser,  if  not  happier. 

"I  have  learned,"  said  Salinda,  "a  lesson 
for  life.  I  trust  I  shall  never  forget  to  profit 
by  it,  if  I  should  ever  be  a  mother." 

"  I  do  not  think,"  said  Mrs.  Savery,  "  that 
it  is  necessary  for  you  or  Lillie  to  wait  that 
event,  to  apply  the  lesson  of  the  day  to  a  good 
purpose.  You  see  the  effect  of  insubordina- 
tion, and  the  cost  of  not  training  up  a  child  in 
the  way  he  should  go." 

"  It  is  certainly  very  bad  economy  ;  besides 
being  extremely  vexatious ;  but  Mrs.  Doo- 
little  appears  to  be  used  to  it;  don't  you 
think,  Mrs.  Savery,  that  she  stands  it  remark- 
ably well  ?  How  calm  she  remained  through 
all  the  storm." 

"  Only  to  storm  herself  as  soon  as  our  backs 
are  turned,  and  she  is  free  from  restraint." 


HOME  iNFi.rrxn.?:.  :.K3 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Family  Scenes,  and  Home 


You  that  are  strong  in  good  purposes,  shall 
not  censure  the  want  of  strength  in  Doolittle, 
to  enter  upon  such  a  scene  as  was  enacting 
when  he  came  home  —  one  oft  enacted,  yet, 
like  all  evil  acts,  growing  stronger,  growing 
worse  and  worse  every  day. 

He  hesitated  with  his  hand  upon  the  latch  ; 
he  heard  his  wife  say  that  she  would  "  make 
their  father  tie  them  up,  and  she  would  whip 
them  to  death." 

He  supposed  it  was  the  girls  that  she  meant, 
for  she  was  talking  with  them,  and  he  thought  ; 
"  What,  has  it  come  to  this  r(  must  I  tic  up  my 
daughters,  for  their  mother  to  wreak  her  ven- 
geance upon,  for  some  trifling  dispute  or  dis- 
agreement? Never!"  Yet  lie  knew  full 
well  that  her  will  was  law,  and  if  she  willed 
it,  he  must  obey,  or  have  a  fight  himself. 


214  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

What  should  he  do?  What  did  he  do? 
Just  what  a  thousand  others  have  before, 
whose  home  held  no  magnet,  like  that  of  the 
Saverys,  to  draw  them  within  its  portals,  and 
shield  them  from  the  corrupting  association  of 
evil  companions. 

Poor  Doolittle!  He  had  come  home  late 
and  tired,  because  it  had  been  hinted  to  him 
that  his  presence  with  company  would  not  be 
agreeable. 

Such  a  man  trembles  as  he  lays  his  hand 
upon  his  own  door-latch,  after  a  hard  day's 
work,  and  shrinks  back  from  what  he  hears 
within.  He  hesitated,  and  mentally  said, 
"  Oh,  God,  is  this  home  ?"  then  turned  away 
and  walked  back  around  the  corner,  and 
entered  one  of  those  ever  invitingly  open 
doors,  where  a  man  whose  face  is  one  constant 
winning  smile,  stood  before  his  customers, 
tempting  them  to  buy  some  of  his  colored 
fluids,  which  they  knew  by  experience  would 
give  them  oblivion  of  the  discomforts  of  their 
home,  or  make  them  forgetful  of  their  own 
folly,  or  reckless  of  some  indiscretion  commit- 
ted or  contemplated,  or  careless  of  the  want 


DRINKING,    AND    ITS    EFFECT.  215 

of  money  to  provide  home  comforts,  which  in 
such  places  as  this  are  foolishly  wasted. 

Doolittle  needed  no  coaxing.  He  took  the 
draught  eagerly,  and  it  was  a  large  one,  and 
then  went  and  sat  down  in  a  dark  corner  and 

laid  his  head  upon  a  table  and  enjoyed 

yes,  that  is  the  word,  enjoyed  the  oblivion 
produced  by  a  drunken  sleep.  He  had  long 
been  a  hard  drinking  man,  but  this  was  the 
first  time  that  he  had  ever  been  drunk, — drunk 
in  a  public  bar-room.  . 

He  slept  on  u»noticed,  as  had  a  hundred 
others  before  him  in  the  same  corner.  It  is 
the  effect,  the  least  injurious  effect,  of  drink- 
ing, upon  some  men.  Some  are  loquacious  ; 
some  are  argumentative  and  religious;  some 
are  lascivious;  some  are  excessively  foolish; 
some  are  brutal,  beastly,  ugly,  quarrelsome, 
wicked,  combatative,  murderous.  Others  are 
simply  stupid.  That  was  the  effect  produced 
upon  Doolittle.  He  waked  at  length,  as  many 
pei-sons  have  awaked  from  a  state  of  insensi- 
bility, by  the  sound  of  their  own  name. 

Close  by  where  he  sat,  was  a  thin  board 
partition.  Somebody  on  the  other  side  had 


216  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

forgotten  that  walls  have  cars.  If  they  had 
not,  Doolittle  had,  and  when  he  heard  his  own 
name  he  opened  them.  His  stupor  had  passed 
off,  and  his  hearing  faculties  were  quick.  He 
distinguished  one  of  the  voices  as  that  of  Wal- 
tringham.  The  other  he  did  not  know,  but  the 
person  was  pressing  him  for  a  debt,  which  in 
the  fashionable  parlance  of  perverted  lan- 
guage, is  called  "a  debt  of  honor."  If  it  is,  it 
is  honor  among  thieves,  for  gambling  and  steal 
ing  are  both  in  one  category,  in  the  opinion  of 
those  who  practice  neither. 

"  Now,  see  here,"  said  Waltringham  to  his 
companion,  "you  just  keep  easy  a  little  while, 
and  I  shall  make  a  raise.  See  if  I  don't.  I 
understand  the  ropes.  I  am  just  now  stock- 
ing the  cards.  I  shall  be  sure  to  hold  a  hand 
that  will  win." 

"  Well,  old  fellow,  I  Should  like  to  know 
how.  Show  me  your  hand.  Is  it  all  honors?" 

"  Yes,  trumps  at  that.  The  bullet,  king, 
queen  and  knave." 

There  could  be  no  mistake  about  the  latter. 
Every  inch  a  knave. 

"Well,  how  are  you  going  to  play  them? 


PLOTTING    VILLAINS.  21 T 

If  it  is  a  winning  game,  I'll  take  a  hand,  hold 
stakes,  or  cdunt  my  fingers  for  you ,  and  come 
in  for  a  share.  What  say?" 

"  Just  the  thing.  I'll  tell  you.  But  let  us 
see  that  we  are  all  alone.  Shut  that  door  will 
you.  Is  the  coast  clear  ?" 

'There  is  nobody  in  the  bar-room  except 
one  poor  drunken  ass,  hard  and  fast  in  sleepy 
corner.  Go  ahead." 

Doolittle  ventured  to  look  up.  He  had  out- 
slept  all  the  company.  It  was  after  eleven 
o'clock.  The  bar-keeper  was  dozing  outside 
the  door,  waiting  for  twelve  o'clock,  when  he 
would  shut  up.  Doolittle  drew  up  still  closer 
to  the  partition.  There  was  a  large  knot  hole, 
covered  by  a  piece  of  paper,  just  by  his  ear. 
He  cut  this  away  with  his  pocket  knife  arid 
every  low  spoken  word  came  through  dis- 
tinctly. 

"  You  know  old  Doolittle,  said  Waltringham 
— very  well,  his  daughter  is  just  one  of  the 
finest  animals  you  ever  saw  trotted  out.  She 
is  a  real  2.  40  nag.  She  will  win  anywhere. 
She  will  carry  me  in  where  the  gate  would  be 
shut  and  locked  without  her.  I.  tell  you,  she 
10 


218  ECONOMY    ILLfSTK.ViKI; 

can  let  down  the  bars  that  lead  to  pleasant  pas- 
ture. She  will  last  good  for  years,  and  then 
bring  cost.  Well,  that  nag  is  mine.  The  old 
woman  says  that ;  and  the  grey  mare  is  the 
best  horse  there,  I  tell  you." 

"But  that  don't  bring  the  money.  Besides, 
it  will  cost  a  pile  to  keep  such  a  blooded 
animal." 

"  Oh,  never  fear  that.  The  old  man  has  got 
plenty  of  fodder,  if  he  has  not  plenty  of 
money.  I  mean  to  live  off  of  him/' 

"Very  fine  for  your  but  I  donrt  see  how 
that  is  to  get  me  my  money." 

"  Hold  easy.  Yon  haven't  heard  half  of  it 
yet.  This  is  game  that  can't  all  be  bagged  at 
once.  The  old  woman  is  a  fool.  I  can  wind 
her  round  my  finger.  I  persuaded  her  and 
the  girls  to  make  the  old  man  buy  a  carriage 
and  pair,  just  to  cut  a  figure.  He  loves  his 
toddy,  and  is  always  good-natured  when  he  is 
drinking,  and  as  soon  a&  we  are  married,  I  will 
make  a  raise  out  of  him,  through  the  old 
woman  and  girls  ;  you  had  better  believe  I 
will." 

"  How  are  you  going  to  do  that  ?" 


DOOLITTLE    SITS    FOB    HIS    PORTRAIT.  219 

"  Now,  I  am  coming  to  your  share.  I  must 
have  a  partner.  I  will  propose  to  go  into 
business ;  that  will  tickle  the  old  woman  to 
have  her  son-in-law  a  merchant.  I  will  offer 
to  take  Doolittle  in  as  third  partner.  His 
credit  is  good,  and  notes  signed  by  you  and 
me,  endft'sed  by  him  will  buy  goods.  We 
will  ship  them  and  then  ship  ourselves.  But 
first,  you  must  buy  that  carriage  and  horses, 
which  I  can  persuade  them  to  sell,  when  I 
take  the  daughter  off.  That  will  pay  your 
debt,  and  I  will  take  the  goods  and  the  girl 
for  my  share.  How  do  you  like  it  ?" 

"Why,  it  looks  fair.  When  will  you  bring 
it  round?  I'm  in  a  hurry.  To  tell  you  the 
truth,  I  am  confounded  hard  up,  and  must 
make  a  raise  soon,  or  I  shall  have  to  cut  stick." 

"  I'll  settle  the  matter  to-morrow,  if  I  find 
the  old  man  in  the  right  tune.  He  must  have 
just  so  much  rum  aboard  to  make  things  go 
easy.  If  he  gets  too  much  he  goes  to  sleep, 
and  will  snooze  away  all  the  evening  like  a 
fat  pig.  1  meant  to  have  arranged  matters 
to-day,  but  the  cards  had  a  bad  run.  The 
boys,  who  are  as  ungoverned  as  grizzly  bears, 


220  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

got  into  a  fig]  it  and  broke  about  fifty  dollars 
worth  of  stuff,  and  put  the  old  woman  in  a 
bad  humor.  Then  they  had  some  stiff,  vine- 
gar-faced puritans  there  to  tea,  that  cut  off  all 
conversation.  I  had  to  measure  my  words." 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  Alleck,  this  looks 
like  a  scurvy  trick ;  but  necessity  fcnows  no 
law  ;  and  if  it  wa'n't  for  fear  my  wife  would 
turn  up  and  get  me  in  limbo,  I  would  marry 
the  other  girl.  You  say  she  is  fresh  ?'' 

"  Smooth  as  a  three-year  old.  Come,  go  in 
to  win.  I  will  introduce  you  as  a  Southern 
merchant  here  buying  goods,  and  then  you 
in  your  generosity  shall  offer  me  a  partner- 
ship, and  I  will  agree  to  go  in,  if  Doolittle 
will  take  a  hand.  He  will  say  he  cannot  raise 
the  money,  and  then  I  will  bring  about  the 
horse-trade.  Depend  upon  it,  we  can  skin 
that  drunken  fool  before  he  knows  it." 

"  Skin  a  drunken  fool,  and  that  fool  is  me," 
said  Doolittle  to  himself.  "  I  have  heard 
enough  ;  I  have  sat  for  my  portrait,  and  it  has 
been  drawn  by  an  artist.  It  is  a  fallacy  that 
listeners  never  hear  any  good  of  themselves. 
I  have  heard  that  which  will  do  me  good.  I 


THE    PORTRAIT    FINISHED.  221 

have  heard  what  is  rarely  spoken  of  a  man  to 
his  face — the  truth — and  I  mean  to  profit  by 
it." 

By  the  time  he  had  finished  his  colloquy, 
he  once  more  had  his  hand  upon  his  own  door- 
latch.  He  entered  with  a  different  feeling 
from  that  of  the  early  evening,  but  it  was  not 
a  happy  one.  All  was  silent,  as  before  all  had 
been  stormy.  The  storm  had  spent  itself. 
There  was  a  desolateness  in  the  house,  but  a 
greater  one  in  his  heart.  He  was  sober  now, 
but  he  felt  the  guilt  of  drunkenness  as  he  had 
never  felt  it  before,  and  as  he  then  felt,  never 
would  feel  it  again.  Mrs.  Doolittle  was  in 
bed,  asleep  or  pretending  to  be.  She  had 
retired  completely  worn  down  in  body  and 
mind.  She  had  scolded  and  fumed  at  the 
girls ;  quarrelled  with  John  and  the  cook, 
till  both  had  told  her  they  would  leave  in  the 
morning,  which  she  had  averted  by  promising 
an  increase  of  wages.  With  the  boys  she  had 
had  a  regular  pitched  battle — it  was  not  doubt- 
ful which  had  won  the  field. 

It  was  a  scene  that  always  has  the  same 
termination — the  parent  yields  to  the  child, 


222  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

and  that  is  the  end  of  parental  control,  and 
the  wretched  rule  of  insubordination.  The 
young  tyrant  locked  his  mother  in  the  garden, 
and  then  required  all  sorts  of  promises  before 
he  would  open  the  door,  and  finally  would 
only  agree  to  throw  the  key  down,  and  that 
Ned  alone  should  come  in  the  chamber  that 
night.  He  plainly  told  his  mother  that  he  did 
not  believe  her,  and  would  not  trust  her  word 
— "  you  have  broken  it  so  often." 

Mothers,  let  this  be  a  lesson.  Never  give  a 
child  reason  to  say,  "  you  have  broken  your 
word."  Establish  family  discipline,  and 
steadily  maintain  it.  Train  up  a  child  in 
the  way  he  should  go,  from  the  cradle,  and 
you  never  will  have  to  chase  him  down  like  a 
wild  animal  when  he  merits  punishment,  nor 
sue  to  him  to  unlock  the  door  and  let  you  into 
your  own  house. 

Mrs.  Doolittle  went  to  her  bed,  if  not  a 
wiser  and  a  better  woman,  a  very  dissatisfied 
and  tired  one.  It  is  no  wonder,  if  she  was  not 
asleep,  that  she  had  no  further  disposition  to 
quarrel,  and  that  she  was  willing  to  let  her 
husband  lay  down  in  quiet,  without  making 


A    LKSSOIS1    FUU    MOTliLKS.  223 

him  give  an  account  of  himself,  and  where  he 
had  been,  and  what  he  had  been  about  till 
twelve  o'clock  at  night  Her  rage  and  disap- 
pointment had  overcome  her,  and  worn  her 
•down  worse  than  a  week  of  such  "  slavish 
labor,"  as  she  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  Mrs. 
Savery  inflicted  upon  herself.  If  she  did,  she 
did  not  inflict  upon  herself  such  a  bitter, 
wretched,  sleepless  night,  as  this  one  that 
now  tormented,  instead  of  refreshed  Mrs. 
Doolittle.  Had  she  known  all  that  her  hus- 
band knew,  she  would  have  been  still  more 
wretched  ;  for  the  marriage  of  Triphenia  with 
a  Southern  planter  was  to  be  to  her  a  crown- 
ing glory. 

The  girls  had  gone  off  to  their  room  ;  that 
room  so  graphically  described  by  Salinda ;  and 
there  they  were  having  a  pretty  quarrel  be- 
tween themselves. 

Triphenia  was  mad  because  Kitty  had 
brought  Salinda  up  there  to  see  all  the  dirt 
and  confusion,  ami  waste,  and  discomfort  of 
such  an  apartment. 

It  ended  in  both  criminating  each  other  for 
what  they  were  both  guilty  of — sloth  and  indo- 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATKD. 

lence.  It  finally  grew  so  warm,  that  Triphe- 
nia  declared  that  she  would  not  sleep  there — 
she  would  not  sleep  in  the  house — never  would 
sleep  there  again.  In  this  she  kept  her  word  * 
though  she  did  not  probably  intend  it.  She 
left  the  house  in  anger  five  minutes  before  her 
father  came  in. 

The  "  scene"  that  Doolittle  took  a  part  in  the 
next  morning,  was  not  "  first  exhibited  in  that 
theatre  for  the  only  time."  It  was  a  family 
scene,  but  such  as  never  occurs  in  "  well  regu- 
lated families." 

We  will  not  try  to  peep  behind  the  curtain, 
for  fear, 

:'  Some  power  the  gift  would  gie  us 
To  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us." 

He  was  miserable,  wretched  beyond  concep- 
tion. Yesterday,  he  would  have  applied  a 
panacea.  To  day,  he  would  die  sooner  than 
touch  a  drop.  He  was  a  stubborn  man,  and 
having  once  made  up  his  mind  to  a  thing 
would  not  back  out  for  trifles.  He  could  even 
withstand  the  urging  of  his  wife,  when  she 
had  got  over  her  first  blast,  "  to  take  a  little 
something;  do  now,  dear,  you  will  feel  better." 


- 


MORE    FAMILY    SCENIC.  225 

Strange  is  it  not,  that  a  wife  should  urge  a 
husband  to  be  a  "  drunken  fool." 

Triphenia  almost  boiled  with  rage  when  she 
heard  her  father's  story ;  not  that  she  had 
thrown  her  love  away  upon  such  a  worthless 
fellow,  but  that  his  true  character  had  been 
found  out,  and  that  he  stood  like  a  convicted 
felon,  to  be  despised  by  all  honest  men.  She 
was  still  more  angry  to  think  she  was  detected 
in  such  a  web  of  falsehoods  as  she  had  been 
weaving.  But  she  concluded,  instead  of 
repenting  and  asking  forgiveness,  to  play  the 
heroic.  She  declared  it  was  all  a  conspiracy 
to  prevent  her  marriage,  but  it  came  too  late. 
She  did  not  ask  any  favors  of  her  father — par- 
ticularly of  such  a  father." 

"  Then  you  can  take  your  'gentleman'  and 
leave  your  father  and  his  house  as  soon  as  yon 
please.  You  are  no  longer  a  daughter  of 
mine." 

Mr.-  Doolittle  hurried  away,  and  shortly 
afterwards  Triphenia  left  in  a  rage,  declaring 
she  never  would  again  cross  the  threshold  of 
her  father's  house. 


10* 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTKA1  ED. 

It  was  only  another  lesson  in  the  evils  of 
insubordination. 

"  I  am  really  glad  to  hear  how  much  more 
amiable  of  the  two  Kitty  has  proved  herself," 
said  Mrs.  Savery,  when  she  heard  the  story. 

"  Yes,  mother,"  said  Lillie,  "  for  instead  of 
opposing  her,  she  did  all  she  could  to  help  her 
sister.  Her  mother  got  down  on  her  knees 
and  begged  Triphenia  to  stay ;  declaring  that 
her  father  should  acknowledge  his  fault  and 
beg  her  pardon  for  his  brutal  treatment,  and 
receive  Mr.  Waltringham  into  the  family,  and 
then  they  would  all  live  there  so  happy 
together.  But  she  would  not  listen,  but  order- 
ed John  to  bring  out  the  carriage,  and  took 
her  trunks,  and  bandboxes,  and  drove  off, 
leaving  her  mother  without  a  parting  word, 
and  returning  Kitty's  good  wishes  with  an 
angry  toss  of  her  head.  Of  coui-se  the  family 
are  in  distress  this  evening ;  nobody  knows 
where  Triphenia  or  Mr.  Doolittle  are,  but 
folks  guess  that  he  is 

"Drunk.  I  will  give  you  the  word,  since 
you  hesitate  to  speak  it.  But  you  may  rest 
easy  about  that.  Look  here." 


OK    T1IK    PLEDGE.  227 

Mr.  Savery  took  from  his  pocket  a  very 
neatly  engraved  card  with  Mr.  Doolittle's  name 
written  in  bold  characters  at  the  bottom. 

"  I  am  going  to  put  this  in  a  handsome 
frame,  and  then  he  will  hang  it  up  in  his  bed 
room.  This  is  a  temperance  pledge ;  and  it 
will  be  kept  too,  for  it  is  made  by  a  sober 
man,  in  good  faith,  with  his  eyes  fully  opened 
to  the  folly  of  his  past  career.  I.  know  where 
the  lost  man  has  been  all  day.  He  came 
directly  from  his  house  to  my  shop.  He  was 
so  agitated  at  first  that  he  could  not  speak ; 
he  took  me  by  the  hand  and  led  me  into  my 
little  office-room,  and  sat  down  and  wiped 
away  the  great  drops  of  sweat,  and  with  them 
some  other  drops  that  came  from  the  eyes, 
and  then  said : 

'"To  convince  you  that  I  am  in  earnest, 
first  give  me  one  of  those  temperance  pledges 
that  I  have  so  often  rejected.'  He  wrote  his 
name  as  you  see  it  there,  and  put  his  hand 
upon  his  heart,  and  repeated  every  word,  and 
said,  'With  God's  help  this  will  I  faithfully 
keep.'  '  Amen,'  said  I. 

" '  And    now,7    said   he,    '  I   want   to   sign 


LK28  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

cthing  else.  Jotham  Savery.  1  am  ruined. 
I  don't  own  a  dollar's  worth  of  property  in  the 
world.  It  all  belongs  to  my  creditors,  and  I 
want  to  make  an  assignment  for  their  mutual 
benefit,  so  that  all  may  get  a  fair  share.  If 
not  sacrificed,  there  may  be  enough  to  pay  all. 
My  workmen  must  be  paid  first  in  full.  It  is 
their  due,  for  they  have  families  dependent 
upon  their  wages.  My  stock  must  be  paid  for 
next.  Then  the  grocer,  and  butcher,  and  pro- 
vision man,  and  lastly  the  furniture  dealers, 
unless  they  will  take  back  so  much  of  their 
costly  gingerbread  work  as  remains  uninjured. 
If  so,  let  them  have  it  at  twenty  per  cent,  dis- 
count. That  is  just,  and  that  is  what  I  desire 
to  be  in  all  thie  transaction.  The  debt  for 
that  foolish  purchase  of  carriage  and  horses 
must  take  its  chance — it  is  not  worthy  of 
preference — unless  the  man  chooses  to  take 
back  the  property  at  exactly  what  I  was  to 
pay  for  it.  My  family  I  shall  move  back  to 
the  country  to-morrow,  and  I  want  you  to  give 
them  such  furniture  as  they  need — nothing 
more — and  the  remainder  must  be  sold. 

"  '  If  my  creditors  will  let  me  go  on  with  my 


THE  LAWYER'S  OFFICE.  229 

business,  I  can  soon  pay  all,  with  my  expenses 
lessened  so  much.  I  can  go  back  and  forth 
on  the  railroad,  so  that  it  will  be  of  no  conse- 
quence to  my  work  that  I  live  out  ojf  town, 
but  it  will  be  of  a  great  deal  of  consequence 
to  my  family.' 

"  '  We  went  to  a  lawyer  to  get  the  documents 
put  into  a  legal  form.  The  lawyer  knew  me 
very  well,  but  he  did  not  know  Doolittle,  and 
so  went  on  with  his  story  of  a  client  who  was 
in  limbo  on  a  double  charge :  one  for  a  sus- 
picion of  debt — one  of  those  debts  of  honor — 
and  the  other  a.. charge  of  forgery.  "It 
seems,"  said  he,  "  that  both  my  client  and  his 
antagonist  are  a  couple  of  precious  scoundrels, 
and  that  no  longer  ago  than  last  night  they 
entered  into  a  conspiracy  to  marry  the  two 
daughters  of  a  good-natured  sort  of  a  good-for- 
nothing,  drinking  fellow,  by  the  name  of 
Doolittle,  who  has  some  property,  which  the 
villains  were  to  cheat  him  out  of,  as  well  as 
his  daughters.  My  client  had  some  time  ago 
given  his  notes  to  his  '  friend  '  for  a  gambling 
debt,  which  the  chap  wanted.  Well,  the 
agreement  was  that  they  were  to  go  snacks  in 


230  ECONOMY    ILUJSTKATKD. 

cheating  this  Doolittle,  and  so  make  the  money 
for  that  debt,  as  well  as  enough  to  flash  awhile 
with  their  new  wives.  The  debtor  was  to 
call  on  the  creditor  this  morning,  to  concoct 
further  measures.  This  he  did,  and  at  once 
began  talking  about  the  aifair ;  my  man  try- 
ing all  the  time,  by  gesticulation  and  t-i^ne, 
and  so  forth,  to  keep  him  still,  and  to  make 
him  understand  that  there  was  somebody  in 
the  other  room ;  but  he  was  too  dull  to  take 
the  hint,  but  began  making  his  terms  about 
the  new  arrangement. 

"  '  I  say,  Walt,'  said  he,  I  shall  insist  upon 
one  thing,  before  I  agree  to  let  you  off  from 
this  debt,  and  that  is,  if  I  like  the  oldest  of 
these  two  fillies  best,  I  shall  take  my  choice. 
Now,  mind,  that  if  the  oldest  Doolittle  girl — 
what  did  you  call  her — Tri — Tri — something, 
pleases  my  fancy  best,  I  shall  take  her,  and — ' 

"'Will  you?'  said  a  lady,  walking  out  of 
the  next  room,  and  taking  the  gentleman  a 
slap  side  of  the  head ;  '  will  you?  Then  learn 
what  sort  of  a  one  you  will  take.' 

"It  seems  she  had  called  just  in  time  to 
hear  this  exposition.  How  the  fellows  paci- 


A    CONTRETEMPS.  231 

fied  her,  I  don't  know,  but  these  chaps  are 
always  fall  of  \vords,  and  know  how  to  use 
soft  soap  as  well  as  a  washerwoman.  It  was 
quite  a  contretemps,  wasn't  it?" 

"  '  It  was,'  I  replied ;  '  we  are  all  apt  to 
commit  just  such  by  our  unguarded  tongues. 
For  instance,  supposing  you  had  been  so  un- 
guarded as  to  tell  this  story  in  the  presence 
of  that  very  Doolittle.' 

" '  Oh,  you  wouldn't  catch  me  at  that.  I 
am ' 

"  '  Caught,'  said  I,  laughing ;  '  caught,  as 
keen  as  you  are/ 

"  '  My  dear  sir,  what  apology,  what  amends 
can  I  offer  ?  What  shall  I  do «' 

"  '  Sit  right  down,'  said  Doolittle,  accepting 
his  hand  so  good-naturedly  ;  '  sit  right  down 
and  attend  to  our  business,  and  never  mind 
what  is  past.  It  isn't  the  first  good  thing  that 
I  have  lately  heard  of  myself;  that  is,  it  will 
be  good  for  me,  I  hope.' 

"  It  was,  after  all,  a  very  amusing  affair,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  will  be  the  means  of  giving 
Doolittle  a  valuable  legal  friend,  because  he 
now  takes  an  interest  in  him  that  he  would 
fiot  have  felt  under  ordinary  circumstances. 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

"  We  soon  had  the  papers  ready,  and  I  have 
already  seen  a  portion  of  the  creditors,  all  of 
whom  are  disposed  to  let  me  do  just  what  I 
think  best.  'Torn  Whip  has  agreed  to  take  the 
horses  and  carriage  back,  and  is  to  send  up 
to-night.  He  has  a  customer  for  them  on 
better  terms  than  the  discount  he  offered  or. 
the  note. 

"  I  don't  expect  to  be  able  to  do  anything 
with  the  fnrniture-men  ;  as  they  say  the  articles 
have  been  so  badly  kept,  they  are  not  really 
worth  half  price.  The  hardest  part  will  be  to 
get  the  family  to  move  back  to  the  old  place 
in  the  country  ;  but  they  must  do  it,  for  a  rock 
is  not  more  firm  than  Doolittle.  He  is  already 
a  new  man. 

"  Now  that  is  my  budget  of  news.  Have 
we  any  more  ?" 

"  I  think,"  said  Charley  Goodman,  who  had 
been  standing  some  time  back  of  Mr.  Savery's 
chair,  holding  his  finger  on  his  lip  as  a  signal 
to  the  others  not  to  notice  him,  so  as  not  to 
break  the  story  ;  "  I  think,"  said  he,  "  that  I 
can  make  a  slight  addition  to  your  budget." 

"  Triphenia  called  in  the  course  of  the  day, 
and  Waltringharn's  landlady  told  her  that  ho 


A    BUDGET   OF   NEWS.  2433 

had  gone  to  jail,  and  added  a  great  many 
expletives  about  his  character,  not  at  all  com- 
plimentary to  him  or  Tryphenia,  for  being 
deceived  by  such  a  villain." 

u  Poor  Triphenia,"  said  Salinda,  "  how 
humiliating." 

"  Not  half  as  humiliating  as  what  followed, 
for  she  had  to  return  home — to  that  home 
which  a  few  hours  before  she  had  left  in  such 
a  contemptuous  manner,  there  to  beg  upon  her 
knees  to  be  forgiven,  before  she  could  gain 
admittance,  or  shelter  even  for  the  night.  It 
was  a  new  era  in  her  life  to  submit  to  her 
father,  and  treat  him  with  becoming  respect. 
It  is  a  new  era  with  him,  to  command  respect 
or  to  exercise  parental  authority.  But  he  has 
been  taking  lessons  to-day ;  I  heard  who  his 
teacher  was  ;  I  only  hope  that  the  good  work 
of  reform  will  continue  as  it  has  begun  ;  for 
truly,  Doolittle  is  not  a  bad  man,  and  his 
children  are  smart  enough  ;  they  only  lack 
control,  and  the  instillation  of  a  little  common 
sense  in  the  place  of  frivolity  in  the  girls,  and 
stubbornness  and  mischief  in  the  boys,  who, 
with  proper  training  would  make  smart  men." 


234  I:O»:NUMV  ILLLSTKATED. 

"  There  is  still  another  humiliation  in  store 
for  them,"  said  Mr.  Savery  ;  "  to-morrow  the 
family  move  to  the  country,  and  next  day  the 
red  flag  will  wave  from  their  late  residence, 
while  the  auctioneer  cries  '  going,  going,  gone,' 
over  the  piano,  sofas,  carpets,  and  rose-wood 
bedsteads.  If  I  can  close  up  his  business  and 
experiment  of  city  life,  with  a  loss  of  not  more 
than  two  thousand  dollars,  I  think  I  shall  leave 
him  with  his  hands  unencumbered  to  go  to 
work  and  retrieve  the  great  mistakes  of  his 
life.  As  for  the  girls,  I  have  no  fear ;  Tri- 
phenia  was  the  most  foolish,  and  I  hope  her 
severe  lesson  will  be  one  of  good  for  life ;  I 
have  known  folly  cured  by  such  a  shock  :  it 
will  either  produce  that  effect,  or  send  her 
headlong  down  the  broad  road  of  destruction. 
Let  us  hope  for  the  best,  and  be  charitable. 

"  Kitty  never  was  so  deeply  imbued  with 
folly,  and  I  am  in  hopes  that  when  she  gets 
back  to  the  country,  and  finds  that  she  must, 
she  will  take  hold  of  the  domestic  duties,  and 
make  herself  a  housekeeper.  The  boys  are 
both  to  be  sent  away  to  a  school  that  I  have 
recommended,  where  discipline  is  the  first  law, 


THE  EXPERIMENT  OF  CITY  LIFE  ENDED.   235 

and  order  the  second,  and  where  every  boy  is 
taught  to  clean  his  own  room,  make  his  bed, 
saw  his  own  wood,  kindle  his  fires,  black  his 
boots,  and  keep  himself  neat  and  respectable, 
besides  attending  to  his  studies.  That  will 
dispose  of  them  ;  my  great  fear  is  about  their 
mother.  Doolittle  says  he  expects  to  have  to 
carry  her  by  force,  if  he  gets  her  back  to  the 
country  ;  '  but,'  says  he,  '  I  will  do  it,  if  I 
have  to  carry  her  on  a  hearse.' ' 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Savery,  you  should  have  rebuked 
him  for  that." 

"  I  knew  it  was  a  strong  expression,  and  so 
was  the  provocation.  Come,  let  us  adjourn 
this  tea-table  talk,  and  see  if  we  cannot  change 
the  subject  to  one  more  profitable  than  the 
misfortunes,  or  errors  in  life,  of  our  neighbors." 


ECONOMY    ILLLSTKATED. 


CHAPTEK 


Reverse  of  Fortune  with  the  Doolittles  —  Going  back  to  the 
Country  —  Death  and  its  Consequences  —  Scenes  of  Terror 
and  Sorrow  —  Repentance  and  Reconciliation  —  Leaving 
Home  for  evor. 

THE  threat  of  Boolittle  simply  meant  to 
imply  that  he  had  determined  that  it  was  for 
his  interest,  and  the  salvation  of  his  family 
from  ruin,  that  he  should  go  back  to  the  coun- 
try, and  go  he  would,  and  his  wife  must  sub- 
mit. He  never  before  was  a  stern  man,  but  a 
revolution  had  occurred  in  his  character,  such 
as  we  sometimes  see  depicted  upon  the  stage  ; 
so  sudden,  so  complete,  that  the  actor  seems 
to  be  playing  another  part.  Doolittle  was  not 
acting  a  part  —  his  was  an  original  character, 
which  might  be  acted  to  advantage,  for  others 
to  study.  The  scene  that  was  "  got  up  "  for 
his  benefit,  when  he  went  home  from  the  busi- 
ness of  the  day  with  Savery,  can  better  be 


A    FAULT-FINDING    WIFE.  237 

imagined  than  described.  Mrs.  Doolittle,  not 
being  able  to  find  him  at  the  shop  after  send- 
ing there  repeatedly,  had  made  up  her  mind 
that  he  was  away  somewhere  drunk,  and  hav- 
ing thus  determined,  she  was  not  to  be  con- 
vinced by  the  palpable  evidence  of  her  senses, 
when  he  returned  in  the  evening,  that  he  was 
strictly  sober.  He  suffered  her  to  go  on  with 
her  invectives,  and  charges  of  bringing  ruin 
upon  the  family  by  his  improvidence  and 
laziness,  thinking  perhaps  that  the  best  way 
was,  when  the  flood-gates  wrere  opened,  to 
allow  the  current  to  flow  until  the  pond  should 
run-  out.  This  may  be  good  policy  where  the 
stream  comes  from  a  small  head,  but  quite  the 
contrary  where  it  flows  from  such  an  exhaust- 
less  source  as  that  which  supplies  fhe  cataract 
of  Niagara. 

"  A  pretty  piece  of  work  your  drinking  and 
ill  temper  have  made — your  drunkenness  and 
your  violence  have  undoubtedly  broken  off  a 
very  desirable  match  for  your  daughter — for  I 
don't  believe  a  word  of  the  story  you  trumped 
up  this  morning — it  was  only  a  drunken 
dream,  or  else  sheer  spite  against  that  lovely 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

young  man — you  never  liked  him,  you  know 
you  didn't,  and  you  need  not  deny  it." 

"  I  am  not  at  all  disposed  to :  I  own  it :  and 
am  proud  to  think  that  my  intellect  was  not 
so  obfusticated  that  I  could  not  properly 
judge  his  character." 

"  Do  hear  the  man — was  anything-  ever  like 
it — one  to  hear  you  talk  would  think  he  was 
an  imposter,  or  perhaps  some  escaped  con- 
vict." 

"  He  may  have  been,  but  he  will  not  escape 
now — he  is  in  limbo  for  forgery,  and  I  don't 
know  how  many  other  crimes,  and  will  not 
be  likely  to  get  clear  unless  he  breaks  jail." 

"Breaks  jail!  Is  he  in  jail?  He  is!  and 
you  stand  there  talking  about  it  so  coolly.  If 
he  is  in  jail,  where  is  your  daughter — where 
is  Triphenia — what  is  to  become  of  her 
— Oh  you  monster,  thus  to  break  up  your 
family.  I  should  not  wonder  if  you  were  the 
death  of  poor  Triphenia.  In  the  frame  of 
mind  she  was  in  when  she  left  home  this  morn- 
ing, I  should  not  be  surprised  if  she  commit- 
ted suicide :  and  all  through  the  conduct  of 
her  father.  There,"  as  she  heard  the  door  bell 


THK    KF-TfliX    HoMK.  239 

ring,  "do  run,  Kitty,  and  see  if  it  is  not  some- 
messenger  from  the  poor  girl,  or  else  to  tell  us 
that  she  has  gone  where  no  message  will  ever 
come  from  her  to  her  poor  distracted  mother." 

Kitty  was  absent  so  long  that  it  was  evident 
that  the  messenger  was  not,  one  that  brought 
uews  of  death  or  any  other  terrible  calamity, 
though  it  was  one  that  told  of  ruined  hopes 
and  blasted  ambition — that  the  wild  day- 
dreams of  a  romantic  girl  had  all  been  crush- 
ed, and  herself  humbled  at  a  single  blow. 

It  was  not  a  messenger  from  Triphenia,  it 
was  Triphenia  herself;  humbled,  broken 
down,  subdued,  and  weeping  like  a  child.  In 
one  hour  the  whole  of  her  life  had  been  re- 
viewed, and  her  errors  had  rushed  back  upon 
her  heart,  and,  like  her  father,  for  in  many 
cases  she  was  like  him,  she  had  seen  what 
were  her  errors,  and  had  determined  to  begin 
a  new  course  of  life.  She  fell  upon  KHty's 
neck  as  she  opened  the  door,  and  then  for  the 
first  time  during  all  the  agony  of  the  twenty- 
four  hours,  since  the  commencement  of  the 
quarrel,  her  fountains  of  tears  were  unlocked, 
and  poured  forth  their  streams,  greatly  to  the 


240  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

relief  of  a  heart  that  until  then  seemed  on  fire. 
As  soon  as  she  could  speak,  she  begged  Kitty 
to  hide  her  from  her  angry  father — her  mother 
she  knew  would  storm  awhile,  but  for  that  she 
cared  nothing;  her  father  "if  sober,"  she  said, 
she  could  never  meet  him — she  had  injured 
him  too  deeply  to  hope  for  forgiveness.  Oh  1 
sister,  since  you  forgive  me,  hide  me,  at  least 
for  to-night,  and  don't  let  any  one  know  that 
I  am  here." 

To  this  Kitty  acceded,  and  while  Triphenia 
went  quietly  up  to  their  room,  she  went  back 
,to  tell  her  mother  that  she  had  heard  from 
her  sister,  and  that  she  was  in  a  friend's  house 
safe  and  well,  and  that  her  mother  should  see 
her  in  the  morning.  She  then  drew  her  father 
away,  as  she  said,  to  give  him  some  supper, 
but  in  reality  to  pave  the  way  for  a  reconcili- 
ation with  Triphenia. 

Doolittle  was  a  man  of  a  kind  disposition, 
and  loved  his  children,  and  loved  their  cares- 
ewe,  and  therefore  said  yes,  without  an  effort, 
when  Kitty  put  her  arms  around  his  neck  and 
said," father,  you  will  forgive  her  ?  "  Her  heart 
leapt  with  joy  to  hoar  that  little  word,  "  yes." 


A    FATHER'S    FORGIVENESS  241 

"  Oh  come  then,  now,  for  she  is  so  miserable" 
— and  she  took  him  by  the  arm,  without 
regarding  his  question  "  where  ?"  and  led  him 
up  to  her  chamber. 

That  "  there  is  a  time  for  all  things,"  was 
partly  proved  by  the  fact  that  there  is  a  time 
for  penitence.  Then  was  the  time  for  Tri- 
phenia.  She  fell  upon  her  father's  neck,  a 
subdued,  penitent  child.  All  the  errors  of 
her  former  conduct  seemed  to  have  concen- 
trated upon  her  mind,  and  to  be  brought  by 
the  one  great  error  of  her  stubborn  temper  to 
a  culminating  point,  and  from  that  she  had 
resolved  that  change,  improvement,  and  some- 
thing better  should  arise.  In  this  she  was 
greatly  assisted  by  her  father's  ready  forgive- 
ness of  her  fault,  but  still  more  from  the  fact 
that  he  had  determined  never  to  touch  another 
drop  of  intoxicating  liquor. 

"  In  this,"  said  he,  "  my  girls,  I  need  all  my 
own  strength,  and  all  that  you  can  lend  me. 
I  have  another  severe  trial  for  you,  and  to 
accomplish  it  in  peace  I  shall  also  need  your 
aid.  I  am  utterly  ruined  in  business,  and 
have  made  an  assignment,  for  the  benefit  of 
11 


242  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

my  creditors,  of  all  my  property,  this  house 
and  furniture  included,  except  the  few  plain 
things  that  we  shall  need  in  the  country, 
where  we  are  to  go  to-morrow ;  and  I  want 
your  assistance  to  reconcile  your  mother,  who 
has  so  often  declared  that  she  never  will  go 
back  alive  ;  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  she  has 
been  sustained  by  her  daughters,  against  the 
convictions  of  their  father." 

"  But  shall  not  be  any  more.  If  you  have 
been  unfortunate,  and  find  it  best  to  return  to 
the  old  place,  you  never  shall  say  again  that 
we  were  stubborn  and  prevented  it,  and  I 
hope  mother  will  be  reasonable.  Have  you 
told  her?" 

"  Not  yet ;  but  I  will,  now  that  I  have  got 
somebody  to  help  me.  Shall  I  do  it  to-night  ?'' 

"  Yes,  now ;  the  sooner  the  better  ;  let's 
have  it  over  with.  Don't  you  say  so,  sister  ?" 

"  Certainly ;  and  then  we  shall  be  better 
prepared  for  our  task  to-morrow." 

Poor  girls,  they  little  knew  what  that  task 
was  to  be.  Although  now  is  generally  the 
best  time,  it  was  not  so  in  this  case.  Mrs. 
DoolittJe,  with  all  her  scolding  of  her  husband 


TALK   ABOUT   MOVIJNG.  243 

for  drinking,  was  not  herself  entirely  free  from 
that  foolish  vice.  Besides,  she  had  been  all 
day  in  a  state  of  intense  nervous  excitement, 
winch  was  aggravated  by  several  potations, 
taken  as  certain  antidotes  for  her  disease. 

"  It  would  have  been  better  to  have  waited 
until  morning,  before  breaking  the  news  to 
her ;"  that  is,  so  said  they  all,  after  the  result 
was  known.  Who  knows  ?  Better  say,  all  is 
for  the  best,  however  inscrutable.  "  I  want," 
said  Doolittle,  "  to  have  a  little  talk  with  you 
about  moving  to  the  country." 

"  "Well,  I  don't  want  to  hear  anything  about 
it.  I  have  told  you  often  enough  never  to" 
speak  to  me  again  on  the  subject.  "When  I 
am  dead  you  may  carry, me,  not  before  ;  I  tell 
you  that,  once  for  all,  and  let  that  be  the  end 
of  it." 

"  But  it  can't  be  the  end  of  it ;  we  have  got 
to  move  from  here ;  this  house  and  furniture 
has  got  to  be  sold  to  pay  my  debts.  .  I  have 
failed." 

"  I  know  you  have ;  you  have  been  failing 
ever  since  I  knew  you.  If  you  have  drank  up 
this  house,  it  is  no  more  than  I  expected ;  but 


244  ECONOMY    T'  r.t  STKATED. 

I  can  tell  you,  nobody  is  going  to  get  me  out 
alive.  I  am  not  going  to  take  my  girls  back 
to  the  country,  after  I  have  spent  so  much  to 
give  them  a  genteel  city  education,  and  have 
got  a  fashionably  furnished  house  for  them  to 
live  in  :  depend  upon  that.  If  you  choose  to 
go,  you  may  go,  and  the  girls  and  I — " 

"  The  girls  have  already  agreed  to  go,  so  it 
will  be  you  who  will  have  to  stay  alone." 

"  It  is  a  lie  ;  it  is  no  such  thing ;  my  girls — " 

"  Have  both  agreed  to  go  with  father,  and 
have  come  to  urge  you  to  consent  to  go  with 
us  freely." 

"  Freely !  freely !  ha  !  go  freely  !  then  I 
am  to  be  coerced  if  I  don't  go  freely,  am  I  ? 
Hold  your  tongue — you  are  a  pretty  baggage 
— how  that  word  grated  upon  Triphenia's  ear 
— to  join  your  father  in  a  conspiracy  against 
me.  No,  I  won't  go,  I  tell  you  all,  to  save 
you  from  falling  dead  at  my  feet.  I — I — I — 
Oh,  God  forgive  me  ! — husband ! — Kitty  ! — 
Tri-  — e— e— Oh  !" 

Mrs.  Doolittle  was  ready  to  go ;  the  period 
had  arrived  when  she  would  make  no  further 
opposition.  As  she  was  uttering  the  words', 


THE   TIME    COKE.  245 

"  falling  dead  at  my  feet,"  she  had  risen  from 
her  chair,  and  stretched  out  her  hands  in  a 
menacing  manner  towards  the  girls,  upon 
whom  her  anger  seemed  to  fall  most  bitter, 
for  having,  as  she  thought,  deserted  her,  and 
gone  over  to  her  husband's  side.  For  a 
^moment  she  looked  wildly  terrible ;  so  much 
so  that  they  were  afraid  to  approach  her.  Mr. 
Doolittle  had  seen  so  many  of  her  hysteric 
fits  that  he  was  not  alarmed,  until  her  voice 
changed  to  that  of  prayer,  and  then  he  hardly 
knew  whether  it  was  penitence  or  anger,  until 
she  called  him  and  the  girls  by  name,  and  in 
trying  to  finish  Triphenia's  name,  turned 
black  in  the  face  with  suffocation,  and  before 
he  could  spring  across  the  room  to  catch  her, 
she  pitched  forward  toward  his  outstretched 
arms,  and  fell  heavily  upon  the  carpet,  a 
corpse. 

The  time  had  come,  Oh,  how  soon  !  "  When 
I  am  dead  you  may  carry  me."  He  carried 
her  first  to  a  sofa,  and  others  rushed  out  for  a 
surgeon.  First  one,  then  two,  three,  for  not- 
withstanding it  was  midnight,  the  news'spread, 
and  each  one  that  heard  it  ran  for  another 


246  ECONOMY   JIJ/USTRATKI). 

doctor.  It  was  of  no  use.  The  first  one  pro- 
nounced her  dead — dead  from  suffocation — a 
very  common  effect  upon  obese  persons  of 
violent  temper,  resulting  from  sudden  anger. 


SIX   MONTHS   ON    TIME'S    RAILROAD.         247 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Six  Months  on  Time's  Railroad — Talk  of  Marriage—Sensi- 
ble Conclusion  to  get  ready  first — Preparation  for  House- 
keeping— The  New  House — A  Pleasant  Surprise. 

How  rapidly  six  months  went  down  the 
inclined  plane  of  Time's  railroad,  carrying 
along  the  daily  trains  of  cars  freighted  with 
hopes,  anticipations,  prospects  .of  things  t;> 
happen  before  the  train  reaches  the  final  ter- 
mination ;  and  how  anxiously  had  those  wait- 
ing at  the  roadside  stations,  watched  each  day 
for  the  one  that  would  bring  the  culmination 
of  the  hope  nearest  the  heart. 

Charley  Goodman  was  among  those  watch- 
ing and  waiting.  Yet  he  was  not  impatient, 
for  reason  told  him  that  in  no  six  months  of 
Salinda's  life,  had  she  travelled  so  fast  upon 
the  road  of  improvement  that  lifts  the  civil- 
ized, cultivated,  educated  woman,  above  one 
bred  in  savage  life,  or  reared  in  health-destroy- 
ing indolence  of  families  who  suppose  them- 
selves the  very  acme  of  Christian  civilization. 


248  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

"  Six  months,"  said  he  to  her  one  evening, 
u  of  my  probation  have  passed.  It  is  the  first 
period  that  you  set — *  six  months  or  a  year  T — 
those  were  the  words ;  do  you  intend  to  keep 
me  waiting  for  the  longest  period  ?'' 

';  Why,  Charley  T  the  time  has  gone  so  rap- 
idly, that  I  can  hardly  realize  that  so  many 
months  of  my  life  have  been  sped  away  never 
to  return.  But  there  is  a  lesson  in  that,  well 
worthy  of  thought — careful,  serious  thought— 
it  should  teach  us  the  economy  of  time.  To 
look  back,  I  cannot  see  where  I  have  wasted 
mine,  but  to  look  forward  it  seems  as  though 
I  should  be  able  to  accomplish  a  great  deal 
more  in  the  next  six  months  than  I  have  in  the 
past.  I  do  hope  they  will  be  as  happy  ones 
to  me  as  the  past  have  been.  And  one  of  the 
most  happy  of  all  the  circumstances  connected 
with  them,  is,  that  I  am  so  much  better  fitted 
to  be  your  wife  than  I  was  before." 

"  Then  when  will  yon  be  that  coveted 
object  F 

"  You  remember  the  promise — '  six  months 
or  a  year ' — I  shall  leave  it  to  you  to  decide, 
after  1  state  a  few  circumstances.  Neither  of 


TALKING    OF    MARRIAGE. 

us  having  previously  determined  upon  our 
marriage  at  this  time,  neither  are  prepared  ; 
and  I  have  not  been  six  months  studying 
economy,  without  learning  what  a  waste  of 
time  it  would  be  to  get  married  before  we  are 
prepared.  Some  romance  reading  young  girls, 
seem  to  think  that  it  would  be  the  very  per- 
fection of  cunning  mystery,  to  get  married  so 
suddenly  or  so  slyly,  that  none  of  their  friends 
would  know  of  the  courtship,  until  they  were 
introduced  as  Mrs.  Jones  or  Mrs.  Smith.  But 
that  is  not  the  case  with  us — it  is  well  known 
that  we  are  affianced — we  make  no  mystery,  of 
our  intention  to  get  married — when  we  get 
ready — and  that  is  what  I  propose  now  to  do; 
and  that  will  be  carrying  out  the  principles  of 
economy  that  I  have  learned  in  this  house.  It 
is  now  the  beginning  of  winter:  the  year  will 
end  in  May,  that  sweetest  of  all  the  montlis  of 
the  year  for  a  bright  honey-moon  ;  and  during 
the  winter  I  will  devote  my  leisure  time  to 
looking  up,  buying,  making,  and  getting 
together  all  the  little  et  ceteras  of  house-keep- 
ing; in  doing  which  I  shall  find  the  advice 
of  Mrs.  Savery  and  the  assistance  of  Lillie 
11* 


250  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

almost  invaluable.  In  the  meantime  yon  shall 
determine  where  we  are  to  live,  and  get  our 
house  ready,  and  next  May-day  we  will  move 
into  it  in  the  morning,  and  at  dinner  time  yon 
shall  have  your  first  meal  provided  by  the 
hands  of  your  own  dear  wife.  Now,  is  not 
that  a  lesson  of  economy,  worth  all  the  roman- 
tic marriages  of  Gretna  Green  ?" 

"  You  are  a  blessed  angel,  and  you  shall  be 
my  guide,  I  hope,  through  a  long  life  of 
happiness." 

"  Rather,  we  will  go  hand-in-hand,  my  voice 
cheering  you,  and  your  strength  sustaining 
me.  It  is  thus  a  man  and  wife  should  live, 
and  then  they  will  be  happy." 

It  was  very  true,  as  Salinda  said,  that  the 
advice  of  Mrs.  Savery  would  prove  invalua- 
ble in  providing  for  house-keeping.  Her 
father  was  willing  to  purchase  almost  any 
amount  of  costly  furniture,  but  Salinda  stead- 
ily refused.  She  wanted  first  to  see  where  it 
was  to  be  put,  and  then  she  would  determine 
what  she  would  have. 

"  That  you  shall  see  to-morrow  morning," 
said  Charley.  It  was  now  winter,  but  one  of 


AN    OIJ)    HOME.  '2i>! 

those  clear,  mild  days  that  make  an  American 
winter  so  delightful,  when  Salincla  went  to  see 
the  spot  selected  for  her  future  home.  She 
\va,s  aware  that  something  had  been  going  on 
for  some  time  between  Mr.  Savery  and  Char- 
ley, which  they  were  not  disposed  to  let  her 
into  the  secret  of;  bnt  whether  it  was  a  house 
or  some  article  of  furniture,  she  was  not  cer- 
tain. However,  this  clear,  beautiful  morning 
was  to  determine  the  extent  of  their  secrets. 
Just  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  lived  old 
Captain  Peabody,  whose  wife  kept  the  cow 
that  eat  the  grass  saved  by  Frank  from  the 
garden  borders  and  grass  plot.  Salinda  had 
often  admired  the  place,  it  was  so  neat,  with 
its  large  garden  and  fruit  trees,  and  little 
white  stable,  and  old  well,  and  green  grass, 
and  shady  yard ;  but  the  old  house,  like  its 
old  occupants,  had  .been  in  its  prime  fifty 
years  ago.  Both  had  seen  their  day,  and  the 
old  lady  had  gone  to  her  last  home,  leaving 
her  old  partner  the  sole  occupant  of  their  late 
one — now  home  no  more ;  and  he  had  been 
persuaded  to  part  with  it,  and  go  and  spend 
the  remainder  of  his  days  with  a  daughter  in 
the  country.  It  was  a  sad  thing  to  go  and 


^52  ECONOMY    1LLUSTKATED. 

leave  a  house  where  he  had  lived  over  fifty 
years,  and  all  the  choice  trees  and  shrubs  that 
bore  fruit  and  flowers ;  but  it  was  a  consola- 
tion to  the  old  man  to  know  into  whose  hands 
all  his  treasured  things  were  going  to  fall,  and 
that  the  place  would  be  occupied  by  those 
who  would  not  only  permit,  but  welcome  his 
occasional  visits. 

"Jf  it  warn't  for  the  poor  old  house  looking 
so  shabby,"  said  Capt.  Peabody  to  Charley 
Goodman,  "  I  would  offer  to  sell  you  my  place, 
because  your  Salinda  would  so  appreciate  the 
garden  and  fruit,  and  all  the  little  conve- 
niences that  make  life  comfortable ;  and  I 
would  sell  it  to  you  cheaper  than  to  any  other 
person  I  know  of,  because  I  know  that  I  should 
always  meet  with  such  a  kind  welcome  and 
sweet  smile  from  her,  when  1  came  to  look 
after  my  pet  trees,  and,  perhaps,  use  my  pru- 
ning knife  here  and  there  as  it  was  needed. 
I  really  must  stipulate  for  the  privilege  of 
trimming  the  grape  vines  every  season,  as  I 
could  not  bear  to  see  them  grow  worthless  for 
want  of  care.  Ah !  it  is  not  many  years  that 
I  shall  care  for  them  at  best." 

"  No  matter  for  the  shabbiness  of  the  house; 


UUYINU    A    HOUSK.  253 

you  know  I  am  a  carpenter,  and  can  soon  fix 
that ;  if  you  have  a  mind  to  sell  me  the  place, 
you  shall  retain  your  old  bed  room,  and  always 
find  it  in  order  whenever  you  will  come  down 
and  spend  a  night  or  a  week  or  month  in  your 
old  home.  I  shall  think  it  good  economy  to 
make  such  an  arrangement,  for  the  many 
things  that  you  can  teach  me,  not  only  in 
pruning  the  vines,  but  in  everything  else,  by 
which  you  have  kept  the  place  in  such  order 
that  it  attracts  the  attention  of  all  passing  by; 
and  as  for  Salinda,  you  know  how  much  she 
loves  a  garden  and  shrubbery." 

"  And  shall  have  it.  I  don't  want  the 
money,  but  I  suppose  it  is  worth  a  thousand 
dollars,  perhaps  it  would  sell  for  more,  but  no 
matter ;  I  want  that  sum  secured  to  my  four 
grandchildren,  when  they  come  of  age,  and 
the  place  is  yours  ;  is  it  a  bargain  ?  " 

"  It  is  ;  I  will  have  the  papers  prepared  to- 
morrow, and  go  to  work  at  once,  and  you  shall 
soon  see  how  quick  I  can  cure  the  house  of  its 
shabby  appearance.  If  you  please,  do  not  tell 
Salinda ;  I  want  to  give  her  a  pleasant  little 
surprise/' 


254  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

He  did  so  upon  the  morning  mentioned. 
The  place  was  about  a  mile  from  Mr.  Savory's, 
and  the  day  clear,  dry  and  bracing.  He 
offered  to  get  a  carriage,  but  she  simply  said, 
"  would  that  be  good  economy  ? "  It  would  not, 
because  the,  walk  was  not  only  pleasant,  but 
in  such  aii-,  particularly  healthy.  It  would  be 
good  economy  for  ladies  to  take  many  such 
walks. 

The  plan  arranged  was,  that  Mrs.  Savory 
and  the  girls  should  start  whenever  they  got 
ready,  and  Mr.  Savery  and  Charley  would 
meet  them  at  the  Capt.  Peabody  place,  where, 
it  was  understood,  they  were  at  work  fixing 
up  the  house  for  sale,  and  go  from  there  to 
the  house  he  talked  of  occitpying,  which  was 
close  by,  in  that  pleasant  neighborhood. 

"  Dear  me,  Mrs.  Savery,"  said  Salinda,  "  do 
look  what  a  pretty  cottage  they  have  made 
where  the  old  house  used  to  stand.  I  declare  I 
wish  Charley  could  have  bought  that,  it  would 
have  been  perfectly  lovely.  Who  did  he  say 
was  going  to  live  there?  I  am  afraid  that  I 
shall  break  the  tenth  commandment." 

"  I  hope  not;  I  do  not  recollect  that  he  ever 


THE    OLD    HOtTfJK    UEIUUT/!'.  255 

told  me  who  was  going  to  live  here,  but  who- 
ever it  is  will  have  a  very  pleasant  home ;  the 
old  man  has  a  valuable  collection  of  fruit." 

"  Whoever  has  it,  I  hope  will  give  him  a 
share  while  he  lives;  I  am  sure  he  is  entitled 
to  it  over  and  above  all  the  money  price." 

"  That  is  a  good  sentiment,  Salinda ;  let  us 
step  in  and  inquire  who  the  new  owner  is,  and 
whether  he  will  be  likely  to  carry  out  your 
wishes." 

They  found,  upon  examination,  that  the  old 
house  had  not  been  taken  away  entirely ;  it 
was  only  remodeled.  The  frame  was  one  of 
the  old  sort  of  solid  oak,  calculated  to  endure 
for  ever,  upon  its  firm  stone-wall  foundation, 
that  extended  to  the  bottom  of  a  dry  cellar, 
and  there  rested  upon  a  rock.  Upon  such  a 
foundation  a  more  modern  form  had  been 
wrought  out  of  the  old  fabric.  The  large 
stone  chimney  had  been  removed  from  the 
center,  and  two  brick  tops  added  to  the  roof, 
which  had  been  changed  into  a  gothic  form, 
and  tops  are  only. needed  where  s'oves  take 
the  place  of  hearth -stones.  In  tho  place  of 
the  chimney  was  now  a  stair-way  to  four  good 


iT'li  KCONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

bed-rooms  abvove,  and  to  cellar,  milk-rooru, 
and  coal-room  below. 

The  space  formerly  occupied  by  the  stair- 
way was  now  included  in  a  hall ;  so  that,  in- 
stead of  a  cramped,  narrow  entry,  there  was 
a  fine,  roomy  space,  which  would  often  be 
used  for  a  sitting-room  in  summer.  The  par- 
lor was  the  same  old  square  room,  the  white 
ash  floor  of  which  had  never  known  a  carpet ; 
but  howr  changed  its  appearance ;  for  in  place 
of  the  great  stone  fire-place  stood  a  bright 
coal  stove,  and  the  little  windows  of  small 
panes  of  glass  had  given  way  to  a  large  pro- 
jecting window  upon  each — the  north  and 
east — side,  reaching  from  floor  to  ceiling, 
which,  with  the  walls,  had  been  papered  upon 
the  half  century  old  plastering. 

The  "  common  room  "  had  undergone  ano- 
ther metamorphosis;  for  the  back  windows 
were  hidden  by  a  new  building  for  a  kitchen, 
store-room  and  pantries,  the  latter  of  which 
formerly  occupied  the  east  end  of  this  room, 
but  had  been  removed,  and  the  room  carried 
out  six  feet,  with  long  windows  opening  on 
the  north,  south  and  east  sides,  making  a  plea- 


Till-:    OLD    BED-KOOM.  257 

sant  alcove  both  summer  and  winter,  looking 
out  upon  the  grass-plot  and  flower-garden, 
and  within  reach  of  two  plum  trees  and  a 
nectarine. 

At  the,  other  end  of  this  room  was  a  bed- 
room— it  was  the  one  that  this  good  couple 
had  slept  in  for  fifty  years,  and  it  looked  as 
though  it  might  have  been  occupied  up  to 
tliis  moment  by  the  same  persons  without 
change.  It  was  the  only  thing  unchanged 
about  the  house.  Salinda  expressed  her  sur- 
prise. She  was  delighted  with  every  thing 
she  saw,  and  admired  the  taste  of  the  new 
purchaser  in  all  his  alterations  ;  but  this  room 
was  a  phenomenon,  and  she  exclaimed,  "  What 
does  it  mean  ?" 

"It  is  the  intention  of  the  old  captain  to 
pay  the  new  occupant  an  occasional  visit,  to 
look  after  his  favorite  fruit  trees,  and  prune 
and  keep  them  in  bearing — " 

••  And  to  eat  the  fruit,  I  hope.'' 

"  Yes,  I  hope  so,  for  many  years ;  and  the 
purchaser  has  thought  how  pleasant  it  would 
be  for  the  old  man  at  such  times  to  occupy 
his  old  room,  just  as  he  did  when  the  place 


258  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATF.n. 

was  all  his  own.  It  will  be  pleasant,  too,  I 
hope  to  the  new  owners." 

"  Yes,  and  grateful  in  the  sight  of  Heaven, 
to  see  snch  kind  consideration  for  the  aged, 
the  poor  bereaved  old  man.  How  it  must 
ease  the  pang  with  which  he  parted  with  his 
home.  Oh !  I  could  hug  the  purchaser  to  my 
heart  for  this,"  said  Salinda,  with  enthusiasm. 

"Then  do  it,"  said  Charley,  bursting  into  ;i 
joyous  laugh,  in  which  he  was  joined  by  the 
others,  while  he  folded  the  astonished,  but 
thrice  happy  girl,  in  his  arms.  Happy  to 
think  this  lovely  home  was  hers — happy  to 
think  the  praise  of  this  noble  act  which  she 
had  so  applauded,  was  due  to  the  man  she 
had  chosen  for  a  husband — happy  to  think 
with  what  care  and  pleasure  she,  with  her 
own  hands,  would  keep  that  room  always  in 
order,  while  the  old  man  would  teach  her  the 
names,  and  how  to  tend  and  cultivate  the 
various  trees  and  plants  of  the  garden.  As 
the  children  sometimes  say,  she  was  "  happy 
all  over." 

"You  told  me,"  said  Charley,  "that I  should 
have  all  winter  to  get  a  house  ready,  and  when 


HOUSE    FURNISH INCJ.  259 

I  had  got  it,  you  could  tell  what  you  wanted 
to  furnish  it  with ;  I  am  now  ready  for  your 
part ;  I  only  stipulate  that  you  shall  not  order 
any  furniture,  except  carpets  and  crockery 
and  small  articles,  until  you  see  me  again 
upon  that  subject." 

"  Another  surprise,  I  suppose ;  but  you  have 
nothing  in  store  that  can  make  me  any  more 
happy  than  I  am  now — lam  full — my  excess 
of  pleasure  is  almost  childish.  Oh!  this  is 
such  a  home;  such  a  lovely  pleasant  place, 
that  I  feel  as  though  I  could  not  be  thankful 
enough.  But  I  will  not  let  my  pleasure  in- 
terfere with  my  business,  if  I  am  to  buy  the 
furniture,  the  first  thing  is  to  get  the  measure- 
ment of  the  rooms  for  the  carpets.  Will  you 
give  me  that,  while  I  make  a  memorandum, 
as  we  go  from  room  to  room,  with  Mrs. 
Savery's  assistance,  of  the  various  articles 
necessary  —  mind  the  word,  necessary  —  for  I 
intend  to  get  no  others,  that  we  shall  require. 
Lillie,  will  you  act  as  clerk,  you  are  so  quick 
with  a  pencil?  Here  is  my  memorandum 
book.  Where  shall  we  begin  ?  " 

"  In    the    kitchen,    certainly,"    said    Mrs. 


260  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

Savery,  "  for  there,  of  all  other  parts  of  the 
house,  is  where  things  are  necessary,  yet  there 
is  where  they  are  most  neglected.  In  the  first 
"place,  Lillie,  you  may  make  a  memorandum 
of  the  tin  ware  from  your  recollection  ol  what 
we  have  at  home;  and  always  bear  in  mind, 
Salinda,  that  baying  cheap  tin  ware  is  throw- 
ing money  away ;  none,  but  the  very  best 
double  plate,  should  ever  be  used,  and  such 
will  last  a  life  time  —  the  poorest  kind  will 
wear  out  in  a  year.  Upon  the  same  principle, 
never  buy  low  priced  earthen  ware,  particu- 
larly that  which  looks  like  the  substance  of  a 
common  brick,  when  broken.  The  solid  strong 
stone  ware  costs,  perhaps,  a  quarter  more,  and 
is  worth  ten  times  as  much  as  the  other. 

"  The  same  remark  will  apply  to  iron  and 
wooden  ware ;  it  is  much  more  economical  to 
buy  the  best  at  first.  Put  down  a  looking 
glass,  Lillie ;  every  kitchen  should  have  a 
looking  glass,  so  that  whoever  has  occasion  to 
go  from  there  to  the  parlor  may  not  be  morti- 
fied, when  she  catches  a  glance  in  the  great 
mirror,  to  see  that  her  hair  or  dress  is  all 
awry.  A  little  glass  here,  that  will  only  cost 


OABPET8.  261 

half  a  dollar,  will  save  many  a  dollar's  worth 
of  time  spent  in  running  up  stairs,  '  jnst  to  fix 
my  hair.' 

"  You  want  a  good  strong  oil  cloth  on  the 
floor ;  it  will  save  twice  its  cost  in  labor  before 
it  is  worn  out.  You  must  have  plenty  of 
kitchen  towels ;  if  you  don't,  it  is  ten  chances 
to  one  but  the  first  hired  girl  you  have  will 
take  a  damask  table  cloth  to  wipe  the  dishes, 
and  a  fine  wiping  towel  for  a  pot  cloth.  The 
best  material  in  the  world,  for  kitchen  cloths, 
is  our  country  tow  linen  ;  it  is  worth  five  times 
as  much  as  the  imported  crash  —  trash  would 
be  a  better  name  —  that  almost  every  body 
uses." 

"  "What  do  you  advise  about  carpets  ?" 
"That  you  buy  a  substantial  three-ply 
carpet  of  some  only  medium  dark  pattern  and 
cheerful  colors,  which  will  in  a  measure  cor- 
respond with  the  furniture,  for  this  room, 
where  you  will  spend  nearly  all  your  time. 
For  the  parlor,  you  may  as  well  get  a  good 
Brussels,  that  will  last  you  a  life  time,  but 
mind  that  the  pattern  is  one  that  has  some 
resemblance  to  something  in  the  world,  and 


202  ECONOMY   ILLU8TKATED. 

that  in  both  figure  and  color,  it  is  cheerful. 
As  your  stairs  are  not  in  a  position  for  show, 
when  the  front  door  is  open,  I  should  put 
down  a  strip  of  soft  matting,  just  to  break  the 
sounds  of  the  step.  You  know  stair  carpeting 
is  going  out  of  fashion  and  paint  is  substituted. 
For  your  bed-rooms,  I  would  buy  a  good  piece 
of  ingrain,  or  three-ply,  enough  to  carpet  all 
the  rooms  alike.  Get  a  pattern  of  soft  colors, 
a  prominent  one  of  which  should  be  green, 
and  the  figures,  flowers  and  foliage.  As  to 
your  bedding,  you  will  find  it  good  economy 
to  get  that  of  good  quality  throughout.  You 
should  have  both  cotton  and  linen  sheets  and 
pillow  cases. 

"  There,  I  think  that  memorandum  will  last 
you  till  next  week,  and  then  we  will  come  out 
again  and  see  how  things  look,  and  what 
Charley  has  to  say  about  the  other  furniture." 

Next  week  they  did  come  out  again,  and 
sure  enough,  there  was  another  surprise.  Mrs. 
Lovewell  had,  unbeknown  to  Salinda,  em- 
ployed a  man  to  put  down  the  carpets,  and 
Charley  had  been  busy  with  his  part  of  the 
plot.  He  had  learned  from  the  Saverys  how 


THE  BED  ROOMS.  263 

much  of  the  furniture  of  a  house  he  could 
make  with  his  own  hands,  and  while  the  ordi- 
nary work  of  his  trade  was  slack  during  the 
winter,  he  had  thus  employed  himself,  and 
with  the  assistance  of  a  painter  had  succeeded 
most  admirably.  Salinda  found  the  four  bed- 
rooms occupied  with  bedsteads,  bureaus,  wash- 
stands,  tables  and  chairs,  the  cost  of  which 
would  bear  no  comparison  to  the  mahogany 
and  rose-wood  ones  that  she  was  tempted  to 
buy  at  the  Doolittles'  sale,  because,  as  the 
auctioneer  said,  they  went  at  such  a  great 
sacrifice  upon  first  cost. 

"  Shall  I  bid  2"  said  Charley  to  Mr.  Savery, 
when  they  were  selling  "  so  very  low." 

"  No,  no  ;  you  don't  want  them — you  can 
make  better  ones  in  your  own  shop  with  a 
few  boards,  a  saw,  plane,  and  hammer,  and 
nails,  and  a  little  paint." 

So  he  did ;  and  now,  here  they  were. 
"  This,"  said  Mrs.  Savery,  "  is  the  oak-room — 
this  the  maple-room — this  the  black-walnut 
room — and  this  you  have  so  hidden  the  kind 
of  wood,  that  we  shall  have  to  distinguish  it 
by  the  color." 


264  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

"  No,  we  will  distinguish  it  by  the  orna- 
ment. ;  we  will  call  it  the  tulip-room.  The 
articles  are  made  of  the  wood  of  the  American 
tulip-tree,  and  the  painter  has  very  appropri- 
ately chosen  the  flower  and  leaf  for  an  orna- 
ment ;  just  as  you  see  in  the  oak-room,  the 
handles  of  the  bureau  are  carved  acorns, 
and  oak-leaves,  and  on  the  walnut  and 
maple,  there  is  the  representation  of  a  leaf 
in  gilt. 

"  I  will  add,  as  they  are  wanted,  more 
frames  for  lounges,  such  as  I  have  in  tin's  room 
and  the  sitting-room  below,  where  you  will 
find  all  the  necessary  tables,  benches,  etc.  ; 
and  I  would  have  tried  my  hand  at  the  parlor 
furniture,  but  your  mother  would  not  consent. 
Your  father  wanted  to  buy  everything,  but  I 
said  No,  and  now  he  is  as  much  delighted  as 
nis  daughter  appears  to  be  ;  and  he  declares 
that  he  intends  to  quit  business  and  come  and 
live  with  us — he  has  already  chosen  the  oak- 
room,  and  says  it  pleases  him  better  than  any 
imported  furniture.  You  know  he  is  a  great 
tariff  man,  and  goes  for  home  manufactures, 
and  this  kind  of  furnishing  just  suits  his 


THE   OLD   HOME.  265 

notions.     He  insisted   that  all  the  carpeting 
should  be  American." 

While  Salinda  was  enjoying  her  raptures, 
to  see  how  nice  everything  looked,  and  won- 
dering how  all  these  changes  would  affect  the 
good  old  man,  to  whom  they  owed  so  much 
for  the  embellishments  of  the  ground,  which 
no  amount  of  industry  could  have  given  them 
in  the  short  time  it  had  taken  to  metamor- 
phose the  house,  she  was  startled  with  the 
feeling  of  a  hand  upon  her  shoulder — some 
one  had  approached  unseen,  and  she  turned 
suddenly,  and  met  the  smiling  face,  glowing 
beneath  the  snowy  locks  of  the  man  she  was 
just  talking  about  in  words  of  such  heart- 
feeling.  '  In  another  moment — it  was  impulse 
without  premeditation — a  sort  of  magnetic 
attraction — he  was  pressing  her  in  his  arms, 
while  she  gave  him  a  child- like,  affectionate 
kiss. 

"  I  will  tell  you  what  he  thinks — how  he 
feels — that  in  giving  up  his  old  home  to 
strangers,  he  never  shall  feel  like  a  stranger 
among  them.  You  will  be  to  rne  more  like  a 

deai%  child  of  my  own,  than  a  stranger,  and 
12 


266  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

all  this  change  does  not  grieve  me  hall'  as 
much  as  it  would  to  come  back  to  the  same 
old  house  I  left,  and  find  an  old  hat  here,  a 
pillow  or  old  rags  there,  filling  the  broken 
windows,  and  the  whole  house  occupied  with 
dirt  and  squalid  wretchedness.  It  is  the  first 
time  I  have  seen  my  old  home  since  I  left  it — 
the  change  is  very  great,  to  be  sure,  but,  all 
for  the  best.'' 

Salinda  then  took  the  old  man  through  the 
house,  and  skowed  him  the  new  arrangements 
and  conveniences,  with  all  of  which  he  ex- 
pressed as  much  delight  as  though  he  had 
made  them  himself  for  a  favorite  child.  At 
last  she  opened  the  door  of  his  old  bed-room ; 
and  when  he  saw  that  amid  all  the  altera- 
tions, this  had  been  preserved  without  change,, 
his  heart  was  too  full  for  utterance.  He  knew 
the  object,  and  felt  the  full  force  of  the  kind 
act;  and  tears  trickled  down  his  cheeks,  as  he 
stood  offering  up  a  mental  prayer  for  those 
who  showed  such  feeling  for  others,  that  they 
should  never  lack  ministering  angels  to  their 
own  declining  years. 

It  is  strange  how  little  is  required  to  move 


GETTING-    RKADT   FOB   THE    WEDDING.       207 

the  human  heart,  and  since  such  trifling  acts 
of  kindly  feeling  of  one  to  another  produce 
so  much  happiness  to  giver  as  well  as  receiver, 
that  we  are  not  more  anxious  to  be  kind  to 
one  another. 

Time  now  sped  on  rapidly  with  the  prepara- 
tions for  housekeeping.  Few  seem  to  under- 
stand the  economy,  however,  of  all  these 
preparations  before  marriage,  instead  of  after ; 
for  then  the  time  of  the  young  wife  is  more 
or  less  absorbed  by  calls  of  friends,  many  of 
which  must  be  returned,  or  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances will  feel  that  the  laws  which 
govern  the  courtesies  of  life  have  been  vio- 
lated. 

March,  that  month  of  storm,  cold  and  blus- 
tering winds,  snows  and  rains,  with  alternate 
freezing  and  thawing,  which  makes  it  one  of 
the  most  uncomfortable  months  of  all  the 
year,  had  come  and  gone  almost  unnoticed  by 
Salinda  and  the  Saverys,  so  busy  were  they 
in  this  work  of  preparation.  April,  too,  with 
its  sunshine  and  showers,  its  summer  hot 
days,  and  chilling  cold,  was  rapidly  going 
down  the  smooth  ways  that  launch  the  gliding 


268  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

months  mto  eternity,  deep-freighted  as  they 
are  with  whatever  serves  to  make  up  the  cargo 
of  joys  or  sorrows  of  human  life.  May-day 
was  now  rapidly  approaching,  and  May-day 
had  been  set  apart  by  Saliuda  for  that — to  a 
young  woman — most  important  of  all  days  of 
her  life — her  wedding-day. 

During  the  winter  there  had  been  one  sub- 
ject frequently,  talked  over  among  those  who 
occupied  the  sitting-room,  and  made  up  that 
pleasant  family  circle  at  the  Saverys.  That 
subject  was  the  Doolittle  family.  The  change 
was  indeed  a  wonderful  one.  Triphenia  had 
kept  her  promise  to  her  father  to  the  letter ; 
for  she  had  done  all  a  child  could  do  to  make 
his  home  a  pleasant  one,  and  in  this  she  had 
been  ably  assisted  by  Kitty.  Mrs.  Savery  had 
been  out  several  times  to  visit  and  advise 
with  them,  and  her  instructions  were  well  fol- 
lowed. Triphenia  said  she  was  determined 
to  win  her  approbation  as  a  housekeeper,  to  as 
great  a  degree  as  she  had  lost  her  respect, 
while  absorbed  in  the  folly  of  trying  to  ape  a 
class  that  all  her  antecedents  had  unfitted  her 
for.  Being  naturally  of  a  strong  mind,  full  of 


EFFECTS    OF   EEFOKM.  269 

the  raw  material  out  of  whicli  proper  educa- 
tion makes  a  smart,  sensible  woman,  she  was 
quick  to  learn,  and  six  months'  practical 
education  had  produced  almost  as  great  a 
change  in  her,  as  the  same  period  had  in  Cap- 
tain Peabody's  old  bouse.  Salinda  and  Lillie 
had  often  visited  the  girls  in  their  humble 
home  in  the  country,  and  always  came  away 
as  much  delighted  with  their  visit,  as  they 
had  been  formerly  disgusted. 

The  girls  had  been  persuaded,  too,  into  a 
new  course  of  reading,  and  Salinda  and  Lillie 
had  both  undertaken  to  furnish  them  books 
with  their  own  notes  and  comments,  and  re- 
ferences to  particular  chapters,  pages  or  sen- 
tences. Charley  G-oodman,  too,  had  entered 
into  the  spirit  of  the  thing,  and  used  to  come 
every  spare  evening,  and  while  Mrs.  Savery 
and  the  girls  plied  their  busy  needles,  he 
whiled  the  time  away  reading  aloud ;  and 
Mr.  Savery,  whenever  the  occasion  offered, 
added  some  comments,  and  Frank  acted  as 
note-taker,  which  Lillie  afterwards  wrote  out 
and  sent  to  the  Doolittle  girls. 

It  is  perfectly  surprising,  the  amount  of  in- 


270  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

formation  that  may  be  thns  treasured  up  in  a 
family,  by  this  economical  use  of  time  in  the 
long  winter  months. 

It  should  encourage  all  of  us  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  a  good  work,  when  we  read  what  a 
beneficial  influence  was  wrought  upon  those 
wayward  girls.  Triphenia  and  Kitty,  by 
these  friendly  epistles  of  good  advice  and  en- 
couragement, and  the  notices  of  good  books, 
with  extracts  from  their  pages,  by  which  a 
new  taste  for  reading  was  acquired,  and  a  very 
vicious  habit  of  reading  none  but  the  most  ex- 
citing novels  got  rid  of,  by  which  both  mind 
and  morals  were  improved. 

The  last  day  of  April  at  length  arrived.  The 
wedding  dress  was  all  ready  ;  it  was  a  simple, 
plain  white  muslin ;  no  more  expensive  than 
would  be  appropriate  for  the  daughter  of  a 
very  humble  mechanic.  Salinda  had  steadily 
rejected  all  the  offers  of  her  parents  to  provide 
costly  apparel,  or  jewelry  ornaments.  "I 
already  have  enough,"  she  said,  "  and  I  will 
not  grieve  a  woman  who  has  devoted  so  much 
attention  to  teaching  me  economy,  as  Mrs. 
Savery  has,  by  incurring  a  useless  expendi- 


THE    BANK    CEKTIFICATK. 


271 


tnre."  She  only  asked  just  enough  besides  her 
own  simple  dress,  to  apparel  her  bridesmaid, 
the  dear  Lillie,  just  like  herself,  and  give  a 
new  suit  to  "  brother  Frank." 

Mr.  Lovewell  had  made  it  "  a  matter  of 
business"  to  pay  Mrs.  Savery  punctually  every 
month  the  sum  stipulated  forSalinda's  "  board 
and  tuition."  He  was  always  careful  to  insert 
these  terms  in  every  receipt ;  and  he  was  just 
about  as  careful  to  send  the  money  on  the  last 
day  of  the  month,  as  he  was  to  pay  his  notes 
in  bank  ;  and  it  was  always  sent  in  gold.  In 
the  excitement  of  this  busy  evening,  this 
wonted  punctuality  had  been  forgotten  by  the 
recipients,  but  not  by  the  payer  of  the  money, 
and  while  they  were  sitting  as  usual  after  tea, 
in  their  family  chit-chat,  a  ring  was  heard 
upon  the  door-bell,  and  while  Salinda  was 
wondering  if  that  could  be  father  and  mother, 
the  regular  monthly  messenger  was  ushered 
into  the  room  with  his  "  little  matter  of  busi- 
ness." 

"  I  wish,"  thought  Lillie,  "  that  Mr.  Pre- 
cision had  for  once  forgotten  that  this  is  the 
last  day  of  the  month,  in  the  evening,  and 


272  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

that  to-morrow  we  are  going  to  have  a  wed- 
ding here,"  for  Salinda  had  stipulated  that 
she  might  be  married  in  a  house  that  had  been 
to  her  a  home  for  the  happiest  year  of  her 
life. 

Mrs.  Savery  thought  as  she  took  the  pack- 
age and  signed  the  receipt,  "  I  wonder  if  this 
punctual  man  of  business  formality  will  let  the 
year  pass  without  ever  expressing  a  single 
word  of  approbation,  except  this  regular  pay- 
ment for  '  board  and  tuition '  ?" 

There  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  the  man 
felt  that  he  had  any  other  obligation  to  dis- 
charge, and  Mi's.  Savery  bowed  her  head 
upon  her  hand,  it  must  be  owned,  slightly 
sad.  She  was  not  a  vain  woman,  but  she  had 
that  good  trait  in  human  nature  which 
prompts  many  a  noble  action — a  love  of  ap- 
probation. She  was  so  absorbed  in  thought, 
that  she  did  not  notice  that  the  man,  before  he 
left  the  room,  had  crossed  over  and  handed  a 
package  to  Lillie,  who  was  just  then  wishing 
the  man  had  not  come  there.  He  simply  said  : 
"This  is  for  yon,  Miss  Lillie  Savery,-'  and 
bowed  himself  out  of  the  room. 


LJLLIB'S  SURPRISE.  273 

sat  in  a  maze  of  wonder,  eyeing  the 
formidable  seal  which  had  been  affixed  by 
the  old  clerk  with  as  much  scrupulous  exact- 
ness as  though  he  was  going  to  send  it  by 
mail,  instead  of  being  his  own  postman. 

"  You  might  as  well  break  it,"  said  her 
father. 

"Break  what?"  said  her  mother,  for  the 
first  time  looking  up  and  seeing  the  astonish- 
ment depicted  in  Lillie's  face,  as  she  looked 
at  the  package  in  her  hand.  Mrs.  Savery 
now  wondered.  Lillie  soon  solved  the  won- 
der, by  clipping  the  envelope  and  displaying 
the  contents,  the  most  noticeable  of  which 
was  a  bank  stock  certificate,  made  out  in  the 
name  of  Jotham  Savery  in  trust  for  his  daugh- 
ter Lillie,  for  one  thousand  dollars. 

There  was  a  short  letter  addressed  to  Miss 
Lillie  Savery,  begging  her  to  accept  the 
enclosed  "  as  a  marriage  portion,  whenever 
that  event  may  occur,  as  a  very  slight  and 
perfectly  inadequate  expression  of  the  deep 
sense  of  gratitude  due  you  and  your  family, 
from  your  truly  sincere  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  Lovewell." 


74  ECONOMY    I.LUSTRATKD. 

Tears  trickled  down  the  cheeks  of  Mrs. 
Savery,  as  Lillie  read  the  note,  which  though 
very  short,  was  very  expressive.  Her  love  of 
approbation  was  fully  gratified . 

It  was,  perhaps,  very  well  that  all  minds 
were  just  now  diverted  from  this  subject  by 
another.  Susan  said  a  gentleman  was  waiting 
in  the  passage  to  speak  with  Mr.  Savery,  who 
went  out  and  said  a  few  words  in  so  low  a 
tone  that  the  voices  could  not  be  distinguished, 
except  as  he  said  to  the  stranger,  "  Wait  till  I 
speak  with  the  girls." 

"What  could  he  be  waiting  for?     What  was 
to  be  said  to  the  girls  ?     That  was  soon  known v 
for  Mr.  Savery  came  back  with  an  unusually 
serious  face,  and  as  he  entered,  said,  "Poor 
Doolittle!" 

"  Poor  Doolittle  !"  replied  Mrs.  Savery  ; 
"  why,  you  alarm  me ;  what  has  happened  ?" 

"  Nothing  has  happened  yet ;  but  he  is 
likely  to  lose  his  housekeeper — that  is,  his 
oldest  one.  Triphenia  is  going  to  be  mar- 
ried, and  like  Salinda,  she  has  chosen  May- 
day for  her  wedding  day." 


ANOTHER    SURPKISK.  275 

"Then  she  won't  be  here — nor  Kitty,  I 
suppose.  Then  who  will  stand  up  with  Lillie  ? 
What  a  misfortune !" 

"  I  don't  know  about  that ;  that  all  depends 
upon  circumstances.  She  will  come,  if  you 
will  agree  to  have  a  double  wedding  here, 
and  then  all  go  together  out  to  her  husband's 
home  in  the  country." 

"Well,  now,  in  the  first  place,  we  should 
like  to  know  who  we  are  going  to  entertain, 
and  where  we  are  going  to  be  entertained. 
Who  is  the  happy  man  ?" 

"  Really,  I  never  thought  to  ask  his  name  ; 
but  he  is  in  the  hall;  I  will  call  him  in  to 
speak  for  himself." 

He  threw  open  the  door,  and  the  gentleman 
came  forward.  LiWie  was  the  first  to  probe 
the  mystery,  which  he  endeavored  to  keep  up 
by  holding  his  hat  before  his  face.  She 
sprang  forward,  and  had  her  arms  around  his 
neck  before  he  had  fairly  emerged  into  the 
light,  uttering  a  wild  exclamation  of  joy,  as 
she  repeated,  "  Uncle  Samuel — uncle  Samuel 
— I  thought  so  :  I  knew  it  must  be  him,  for  I 
am  sure  Triphenia  never  loved  any  body  else; 


276  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

and  now  what  a  good  wife  she  will  make  him ! 
But  how  sly  they  have  been,  though !" 

If  my  readers  can  imagine  a  more  happy 
wedding  party  than  the  one  that  lunched  at 
the  Saverys,  and  dined  at  the  old  Whitloek 
farm,  on  the  first  of  May,  185-,  or  better  or 
more  happy  wives  than  those  that  preside 
now,  at  this  moment,  over  Whitlock  House 
and  Peabody  Cottage,  I  shall  leave  them  to 
their  imagination. 


ONE    DIMK.  277 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   STORY   OP   A    DIME   A   DAY. 

\0riginally  printed  in  The,  Tribune,  Dec.  7, 1855.] 

What  shall  wo  Buy  ? — What  one  Dime  Purchased — A  Les- 
son Learned — What  Good  can  be  Done  with  a  Dime — 
Dying  to  Live  —  Starving  without  Dying — Dimes  Wasted 
— Economy  in  Fuel — Wasted  Fuel — Chips  worth  Saving 
—Heat  Wasted — Fire  Kindlers. 

ONE  DIME. — 'Tis  a  little  sum — 'tis  often 
given  for  a  drink  or  a  cigar — 'tis  sou n  burned 
out  and  wasted.  It  takes  ten  dimes  to  make 
a  dollar,  and  a  dollar  is  a  common  price  for 
a  single  meal.  It  is  soon  eaten — its  effects 
are  not  lasting,  except  when  it  produces 
dyspepsia,  and  then  it  often  costs  a  hundred 
dimes  to  purchase  medicine  that  does  not 
cure  the  disease. 

To  those  who  never  dine  for  less  than  a 
dollar,  how  unsatisfactory  would  be  a  dinner 
for  a  Dime  !  Reader,  have  you  ever  reflected 
how  many  entire  families  in  this  city,  where 
food  is  so  dear,  dine,  every  day,  for  less  than 


278  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

one  Dime  ?  Did  you  ever  think  of  bestowing 
one  Dime  for  charitable  purposes,  and  how 
much  good  that  would  do?  "What  if  every 
subscriber  to  the  Weekly  Tribune  should  give 
one  Dime,  with  his  subscription,  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  necessities  of  the  needy,  and 
deserving  poor,  in  this  city — did  you  ever 
consider  what  a  sum  it  would  be  ?  Look  at 
it — 175,000  subscribers,  at  one  Dime  each, 
is  $17,500  !  What  if  it  were  applied  to  pur- 
chase bread,  say  at  five  cents  a  loaf!  It 
would  buy  3,500,000  loaves  of  bread.  What 
if  we  should  announce  that  such  a  quantity 
of  bread  was  about  to  be  given  to  the  poor, 
in  this  city  !  The  whole  land  would  rejoice. 
How  much  can  be  done  with  one  Dime  ! 

Let  us  see  what  we  would  do  with  it  if  we 
had  but  one — only  one  Dime  in  the  world — 
and  yet  with  that  must  provide  for  a  family 
consisting  of  a  mother  and  four  children  for 
a  whole  day.  "We  would  not  buy  bakers' 
bread  at  sixpence  a  loaf — very  small  loaves, 
too,  never  weighing  over  a  pound,  however 
moist  or  however  adulterated  with  corn,  po- 
tatoes, or  buckwheat,  which  are  harmless — 


WHAT    SHALL    WE    BUY?  279 

or  with  plaster  of  Paris,  lime,  alum,  sulphate 
of  zinc,  ground  bones,  and  we  do  not  know 
how  many  other  deleterious  substances.  No, 
we  would  not  buy  bakers'  bread  with  our 
Dime,  nor  would  we  buy  fine  flour  at  six  or 
seven  cents  a  pound,  else  some  of  the  chil- 
dren would  go  hungry.  We  might  buy  corn 
meal  and  make  a  cheap  cake,  or  a  pot  of 
mush,  or  a  larger  pot  of  porridge,  or  we  might 
buy  two  pounds  of  hominy,  and  then  our 
Dime  would  feed  the  family  one  full  meal ; 
but  to  this  latter  article  there  is  one  objection. 
Where  is  the  fuel  to  come  from,  to  cook  this 
mess?  for  corn,  more  than  any  other  grain, 
requires  cooking  to  make  it  palatable  and 
wholesome.  Two,  three,  or  even  four  hours 
of  slow  boiling  is  not  too  much.  Our  Dime 
will  not  cook  as  well  as  buy  the  corn  meal  or 
hominy.  What  then  ?  Potatoes !  Let  us 
see.  They  require  least  cooking ;  but  they 
cost,  with  all  their  water — and  they  are  more 
than  half  water — two  cents  and  a  half  a 
pound  at  retail. 

Then  they  are  not  cheap  food  after  all. 
It  will  not  do  to  spend  our  Dime  for  potatoes. 


280  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

What  then  ?  It  is  no  easy  study  to  learn 
how  to  procure  the  most  human  food  for  a 
Dime;  to  ascertain  how  many  hungry  mouths 
may  be  fed — how  many  empty  stomachs  sat- 
isfied, for  one  Dime.  It  is  a  study  too  much 
neglected.  It  should  be  taught  in  all  Public 
Schools.  Certainly  in  all  Charity,  Industrial, 
and  Ragged  Schools,  where  children  are  fed 
as  well  as  taught.  What  better  wisdom 
could  you  teach  them  than  how  to  procure 
the  most  food  for  a  Dime?  It  is  a  little 
coin,  but  can  be  made  to  expand.  It  would 
be  real -charity — genuine  charity — practical 
charity — to  teach  such  scholars  economy  in 
food  ;  not  how  to  eat  less,  to  live  upon  less^— 
for  Heaven  knows  some  of  them  live  upon 
little  enough  now — but  to  teach  them  what 
to  buy,  in  case  of  emergency,  with  a  little 
coin — only  one  Dime.  We  have  lately 
learned  that  lesson,  and  we  will  teach  it  to 
you.  We  learned  it  of  a  woman — that  is,  the 
practical  operation  of  it — though  she  says 
she  learned  it  of  us,  from  something  she  read 
about  economizing  food,  in  the  Tribune. 

"I  had,"  said  she,  "one  day  last  week, 


WHAT   ONE    DIME    rUKCHABED.  281 

only  one  Dime  in  the  world,  and  that  was  to 
feed  me  and  my  four  children  all  day;  for 
I  would  not  ask  for  credit,  and  I  would  not 
borrow,  and  I  never  did  beg.  I  did  live 
through  the  day,  and  I  did  not  go  hungry.  I 
fed  myself  and  family  with  one  Dime." 

"How?" 

"  Oh,  that  was  not  all.    I  bought  fuel,  too." 

"  What,  with  one  Dime'?" 

"  Yes,  with  one  Dime !  I  bought  two 
cents'  worth  of  coke,  because  that  is  cheaper 
than  coal,  and  because  I  could  kindle  it  with 
a  piece  of  paper  in  my  little  furnace,  with 
two  or  three  little  bits  of  charcoal  that  some 
careless  boy  had  dropped  in  the  street  just 
in  my  path.  With  three  cents  I  bought  a 
scraggy  piece  of  salt  pork,  half  fat  and  half 
lean.  There  might  have  been  half  a  pound 
of  it — the  man  did  not  weigh  it.  Now  half 
my  money  was  gone,  and  the  show  for 
breakfast,  dinner,  and  supper  was  certainly  a 
very  poor  one.  With  the  rest  of  my  Dime  I 
bought  four  cents'  worth  of  white  beans.  By- 
the-by,  I  got  these  at  night,  and  soaked  them 
in  tepid  water  on  a  neighbor's  stove  till 


282  ECONOMY    JLJ.USTKATED. 

morning.  I  had  one  cent  left.  I  bought  one 
cent's  worth  of  corn  meal,  and  the  grocery 
man  gave  me  a  red-pepper  pod." 

"  What  was  that  for  P 

"Wait  a  little — you  shall  know.  Of  all 
things,  peppers  and  onions  are  appreciated 
by  the  poor  in  winter,  because  they  help  to 
keep  them  warm.  With  my  meal  I  made 
three  dumplings,  and  these,  with  the  pork 
and  the  pepper-pod,  I  put  into  the  pot  with 
the  beans  and  plenty  of  water  (for  the  pork 
was  salt),  and  boiled  the  whole  two  hours  ; 
and  then  we  had  breakfast,  for  it  was  time 
for  the  children  to  go  to  school.  We  ate  one 
of  the  dumplings,  and  each  had  a  plate  of 
the  soup  for  breakfast,  and  a  very  good 
breakfast  it  was. 

"  I  kept  the  pot  boiling  as  long  as  my  coke 
lasted,  and  at  dinner  we  ate  half  the  meat, 
half  the  soup,  and  one  of  the  dumplings. 
We  had  the  same  allowance  for  supper  ;  and 
the  children  were  better  satisfied  than  I  have 
sometimes  seen  them  when  our  food  has  cost 
five  times  as  much.  The  next  day -we  had 
another  Dime — it  was  all  I  could  earn  for  all 


A   LESSON   LEARNED.  283 

I  could  get  to  do — two  pairs  of  men's  draw- 
ers each  day,  at  five  cents  a  pair — and  on 
that  we  lived — lived  well.  We  had  a  change, 
too,  for  instead  of  the  corn  meal  and  beans  I 
got  four  cents'  worth  of  oat-meal  and  one 
cent's  worth  of  potatoes — email  potatoes,  be- 
cause I  could  get  more  of  them.  I  washed 
them  clean,  so  as  not  to  waste  anything  by 
paring,  and  cut  them  np  and  boiled  them  all 
to  pieces  with  the  meat  and  meal." 

"Which  went  furthest?" 

"  I  can't  say.  "We  ate  it  all  each  day,  and 
did'nt  feel  the  want  of  more,  though  the 
children  said  :  '  Ma,  don't  you  wish  we  had 
a  piece  of  bread-and-butter,  to  finish  off 
with  ?'  It  would  have  been  good,  to  be 
sure  ;  but,  bless  me !  what  would  a  Dime's 
worth  of  bread  and  butter  be  for  my  family  ? 
But  I  had  another  change  next  day." 

"  AVhat,  for  another  Dime  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  that  was  all  we  had,  day  after  day. 
We  had  to  live  on  it.  It  was  very  hard,  to 
be  sure  ;  but  it  has  taught  me  something." 

"What  is  that?" 

"That  poor  folks  could  live  a  great  deal 


284:  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

cheaper  and  better  than  they  do,  if  they  only 
knew  how  to  economize  their  food.  You 
have  told  them  how,  but  they  are  slow  to 
learn,  or  loth  to  change  from  foolish  old 
practices." 

"What  was  your  next  change?" 
"  Oh,  yes,  I  was  about  to  tell  you  that. 
Well,  I  went  to  the  butcher's  the  night  be- 
fore, and  bought  five  cents'  worth  of  little 
scrap  pieces  of  lean  beef,  and  I  declare  I 
think  I  got  as  much  as  a  pound,  and  this  I 
cut  up  into  bits,  and  soaked  over  night — an 
all-important  process  for  soup  or  a  stew — 
cooking  it  in  the  same  water.  Then  I  bought 
two  cents'  worth  of  potatoes  and  one  cent's 
worth  of  meal — that  made  the  eight  cents  ; 
two  had  to  go  for  fuel  every  clay,  and  the 
paper  I  got  my  purchases  in  served  for  kind- 
ling. The  meal  I  wet  up  into  stiff  dough, 
and  worked  out  into  little  round  balls,  about 
as  big  as  grapes,  and  the  potatoes  I  cut  up 
into  slices,  and  all  together  made  a  stew,  or 
chowder,  seasoned  with  a  small  onion  and 
part  of  a  pepper-pod  that  I  got  with  the  po- 
tatoes. It  was  very  good,  but  it  did  not  go 


WHAT  GOOD  CAN  BE  DONE  WITH  A  DIME?  285 

quite  so  far  as  the  soup  either  day,  or  else 
the  fresh  meat  tasted  so  good  that  we  wanted 
to  eat  more.  But  I  can  tell  you,  small  as  it 
may  seem  to  }rou,  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
good  eating  in  one  Dime." 

So  there  is — what  a  pity  everybody  don't 
know  it !  "What  a  world  of  good  might  be 
done  with  a  Dime! 

Reader,  have  you  got  a  Dime — that  is,  to 
spare — only  one  Dime  ?  Give  it  to  that  poor 
widow.  Give  it!  No;  you  owe  it.  She 
has  given  you  twice  its  value,  whether  you 
are  one  that  will  feast  to-day  on  a  dollar,  or 
be  stinted  with  a  Dime.  She  has  taught  you 
— what  you  never  knew  before — the  value 
of  one  Dime. 

What  a  pity  so  many  should  be  thrown 
away  !  What  a  pity  we  could  not  teach  this 
lesson  of  economy  in  food  to  the  thousands 
who  will  suffer  before  spring  for  the  Dimes 
wasted,  through  ignorance,  when  Dimes  were 
plenty  !  Knowing  how  to  use  a  Dime  might 
often  save  a  family  from  suffering — from 
beggary — from  degradation.  'Tis  a  small  coin. 
What  if  vou  invest  it  here,  and  wive  this 


"286  ECONOMY  ILLUSTRATED. 

article  to  those  who  would  profit  by  learning 
how  they  can  live,  and  satisfy  the  hunger  of 
five  persons,  all  day — for  one  Dime. 

Yes,  it  is  a  small  coin — ten  will  buy  this 
book.  What  if  you  invest  it,  and  give  the 
book  to  some  one  who  will  profit  by  its 
lessons.  Some  have  already.  So  hope  we 
all  will,  and  that  it  will  be  to  them  dimes 
saved  ;  so  that  all  who  give  will  feel  that  it  is 
only  paying  a  debt ;  as  a  correspondent  does, 
who  says :  "I  feel  that  I  owe  that  poor 
widow  ten  dimes  for  what  she  has  taught  me 
about  economy  in  living.  As  far  as  the 
matter  of  providing  daily  food  for  herself 
and  family  is  concerned,  she  is  probably 
independent ;  but  she  wants  to  properly 
clothe  and  educate  those  four  dear  little  ones. 
Please  hand  her  the  inclosed.  I  have  never 
yet  been  driven  to  the  alternative  of  limiting 
myself  and  family  to  one  solitary  Dime  a 
day  ;  but  do  not  know  how  soon  such  may 
be  the  case,  when  our  legislators  are  doing  so 
much  to  strangle  the  energies  of  our  indus- 
trial population." 

Now  this  is  one  of  the  pleasant   evidences 


TO  U.VK.  287 

that  this  article  upon  economy  in  food  is  do- 
ing its  mission. 

But  I  must  tell  the  writer  that  I  did  not 
do  with  his  dollar  as  he  bid  me.  I  did  not 
give  it  to  that  poor  woman.  Before  I  could 
see  her,  another  came — one  I  knew — one  who 
did  live  neat  and  respectable,  and  respected 
by  all  who  knew  her,  as  wife  or  widow  of  an 
honest,  hard-working  city  carpenter ;  who 
dying,  as  we  all  must,  left  her,  at  thirty-eight 
years  old,  with  five  children  under  fifteen. 

What  a  task — a  living  death  !  Dying  that 
they  might  live.  With  feeble  health — a  toil- 
worn  and  torn  constitution — her  children 
sickly — sick  for  want  of  accustomed  food 
and  comforts  that  came  with  the  father's 
daily  wages,  and  were  daily  spent,  so  that 
when  deatli  came,  and  custom — fashion, 
with  its  inexorable  law — demanded  a  costly 
coffin  and  an  expensive  "last  home"  in  con- 
secrated ground  for  the  dead,  there  was  no 
living  left  for  the  living — no  home  and  food 
and  fire  for  a  family  of  whom  it  had  been 
said,,  "  How  well  they  live !"  Yes,  they 
lived  well,  as  the  word  goes — they  did  not 


288  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED, 

live  by  the  laws  of  economy.  It  was  a  les- 
son never  taught  in  their  school.  It  was  a 
need  they  had  never  needed.  They  need  it 
now.  Now,  when  a  Dime  is  more  than  a 
dollar  then.  Now,  when  for  one  whole  week, 
for  that  feeble,  tender- reared  American 
woman — and  for  four  hungry  children,  who 
never,  till  their  father's  death,  knew  the  want 
of  a  full  meal ;  they  have  known  it  often 
since — for  a  whole  week,  the  only  food  that 
entered  the  widow's  desolate  home,  was  two 
dimes'  worth  of  dear  bakers'  bread. 

The  only  fire  was  made  of  two  pecks  of 
coal.  For  food  and  fuel  for  five  persons,  not 
five,  but  seven  days,  three  dimes  and  a  half 
was  .all  they  had,  and  that  was  not  economi- 
cally expended,  as  was  the  Dime  of  which 
you  read,  because  the  woman  did  not  under- 
stand the  art ;  and  it  was  no  time  to  learn  it, 
and  her  children  starving  the  while.  Just  as 
well  might  you  tell  the  drowning  man  to 
hold  on,  and  you  would  read  him  a  disserta- 
tion upon  the  art  of  swimming.  Just  as  well 
might  you  tell  the  hungry  dog  that  the  bone 
he  stole  to  him  was  useless,  because  he  knew 


8TAUVING   WITHOUT   DYING.  289 

not  the  art  of  making  soup.  Three  dimes 
and  a  half  a  week  for  a  whole  family  !  That 
is  not  the  art  of  economy — it  is  the  art  of 
starving  to  death  without  dying.  It  might 
sustain  a  family  in  the  woods  of  Kentucky, 
where  fuel  is  worthless,  and  corn  but  a  Dime 
a  bushel,  as  I  have  often  seen  it  sold.  It  is 
dearer  now — very  much  dearer  here — and  no 
teaching  of  economy  can  tell  a  woman  how 
to  live  upon  so  little. 

It  was  to  this  woman  that  I  gave  the  man's 
ten  dimes.  I  gave  her,  too,  what  another 
"  friend  of  the  poor"  had  sent  me — some 
clothes  and  shoes  for  her  children  ;  for  of  the 
latter  they  had  none,  and  of  the  former,  only 
the  garb  that  makes  them  feel  they  are  but 
beggars.  Yet  they  are  not — they  are  true- 
born  American  children.  Perhaps,  children 
of  parents  that  did  not  practice  economy, 
and  did  not  lay  up  a  store  out  of  dimes 
wasted.  Yet  these  should  not  be  left  to 
waste.  It  is  poor  economy  to  waste  good 
flesh  and  blood — hands,  heads,  hearts,  souls 
of  our  fellow-creatures. 

Yet,  without  the  economy  of  saving  such 
13 


290  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

from  waste,  to  worse  than  waste  they  must 

go- 
Economy   in   food    would    save   all   from 

want. 

Economy  in  clothes  would  clothe  all  the 
destitute. 

Economy  in  drink  would  make  all  rich,  for 
that  is  all  waste. 

There  are  six  thousand  drinking  places  in 
New  York  city.  At  many  of  these,  every 
drink  is  a  Dime.  One  hundred  dimes  a  day 
for  the  average  sales  is  within  the  limits  of 
truth.  SIXTY  THOUSAND  DOLLAKS  ! 

The  amount  drank  at  private  tables  is  as 
much  more.  The  loss  of  time  and  property,, 
counting  all  the  lives  that  rum  lias  slain,  is 
sixty  thousand  more,  among  our  six  hundred 
thousand  people,  every  day. 

Work  out  the  sum  ;  see  how  much  it  is  per 
week — per  month — per  year — and  then  tell 
me  if  economy  in  drink  would  not  make  all 
rich,  or,  at  least,  leave  none  in  want  of  breads 
it  would  make  a  fund  to  feed  the  poor. 

A  Dime  for  a  cigar  1     What  of  it  \ 

Simply  that  it  is  not  economy.     Whether 


DIMES    WASTED.  291 

a  dime  or  a  mill,  it  is,  in  a  year,  ten  millions 
of  dimes  wasted. 

Go  count  the  stores  on  Broadway  that  sell 
cigars  only,  and  see  how  many  that  pay  a 
thousand  dollars — ten  thousand  dimes  a  year 
for  rent  alone  ! 

Then  count  in  one  walk  from  the  Battery 
to  Union  Square,  how  many  men — men  ! — 
boys — bipeds — things  with  hair  and  legs,  that 
are  burning  out  life  and  cigars  at  the  same 
time,  and  you  will  readily  believe  that  there 
is  in  this  city  one  hundred  thousand  men — if 
men  they  be — who  burn  up  a  Dime  a  day  in 
tobacco. 

How  much  is  that  a  year  ?  Three  hundred 
and  sixty-five  thousand  dimes — thirty-six 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  !  How  many 
poor  women  and  children  that  would  feed 
and  clothe,  and  send  to  school,  to  church, 
and  into  the  ways  of  life,  and  hope,  and  hap- 
piness, to  be  men  and  women,  and  not  pining 
slaves  of  want,  living  upon  a  Dime  a  day  ! 

How  many  lessons  of  economy  would  all 
these  wasted  dimes  tench !  They  teach  us 
one  great  lesson  now.  It  is  this  :  it  is  not 


292  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

economy  to  smoke.  And  perchance  some  of 
those  who  will  puff  the  fetid  odor  of  their 
bad  breath  and  tobacco  in  your  face  while 
you  read  of  this  great  waste  of  dimes,  will 
laugh  at  your  study  and  practice  of  economy 
in  living,  and  die  and  leave  their  families 
to  live,  as  best  they  may,  upon  a  Dime 
a  day. 

ECONOMY  IN  FUEL. — So  here  let  us  give 
them  another  lesson  in  economy — the  economy 
in  making  ajvre — not  at  the  end  of  a  cigar, 
for  in  that  there  is  no  economy,  however 
made;  yet  in  that  economy  might  be  prac- 
ticed— but  in  making  a  fire  in  the  family 
stove,  range,  or  grate,  where  anthracite  coal 
is  used. 

Coal  will  not  ignite  without  being  first 
heated  to  a  red  heat  with  wood.  Wood  is 
costly.  A  load — a  city  load — of  pine  wood 
costs  about  two  and  three-fourth  dollars.  It 
is  called  a  third  of  a  cord.  It  is  hardly  an 
honest  fourth.  It  is  two  cents  a  pound.  It 
is  usually  cut  by  the  sawyer  three  times.  It 
should  be  cut  six.  It  never  should  be  cut  by 
hand.  That  is  not  economv.  It  is  cut  six 


ECONOMY    IN   FUEL.  293 

times  by  machine  for  the  same  price  of  three 
by  hand,  and  it  is  split  finer  and  better, 
without  additional  cost,  by  an  ax  driven,  like 
the  saw,  by  steam. 

It  is  no  longer  economy  to  buy  wood  by 
the  load,  and  have  it  cut  and  split  upon  the 
pavement  before  your  door,  for  two  reasons : 
it  costs  more,  and  burns  more.  It  never 
will  be  split  fine  enough.  The  finer  the 
better,  if  part  of  it  be  mere  splinters.  Then 
a  small  piece  of  paper  and  a  match  will  serve 
to  kindle.  Put  the  wood  all  in  a  close  bunch 
in  the  middle  of  the  grate,  with  a  small 
quantity  of  small  pieces  of  coal  over  it. 
When  these  are  heated,  add  more,  a  little  at 
a  time,  until  all  is  hot,  and  you  will  have  a 
good  fire.  .  Economy  in  kindling  a  fire  will 
save  one  half  the  cost  of  wood.  Enough 
may  be  saved  in  every  family  in  kindling 
wood  alone  to  give  a  peck  of  coal  to  some 
needy  one  every  day. 

'Tis  a  small  bunch  of  wood  that  costs  a 
Dime.  I  have  sometimes  seen  it  used  to 
kindle  one  fire ;  and  often  seen  the  grate 
filled  heaping  full  of  coal  that  had  to  be  all 


294  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

removed  after  the  paper  and  wood  had  burned 
out,  because  the  builder  had  never  studied 
the  art  and  economy  of  kindling  a  fire. 

Never,  whether  rich  or  poor,  suffer  your 
cinders  or  unburned  bits  of  coal  to  be  wasted 
in  the  ash-barrel.  Measure  for  measure,  they 
are  worth  more  than  coal.  Save  them,  soak 
them,  try  them.  Water  renovates  the  coke, 
and  wet  cinders  upon  a  hot  coal  fire  will 
make  it  hotter,  and  keep  it  so  longer  than 
fresh  coal. 

Saving  cinders  is  not  meanness,  it  is  econ- 
omy. 

To  learn  how  to  kindle  a  tire,  is  learning  a 
useful  lesson  for  life.  It  is  a  useful  study  of 
economy.  Remember  its  teachings,  for  the 
time  may  come  when  it  will  be  worth  to  you 
more  than  a  Dime. 

Let  me  repeat,  while  you  listen :  in  short, 
have  your  kindling  wood  short,  and  all  in  a 
close  pile  over  your  crumpled  paper.  If  it 
is  set  up  like  a  stack,  all  the  better  to  ignite. 
Put  on  small  coal  in  small  quantities  till  your 
tire  burns  bright ;  then  add  wet  cinders,  and 
then  you  will  save  a  Dime  a  day. 


WASTED   FUEL.  295 

No  young  gent  or  lady  should  ever  be  al- 
lowed a  servant  to  kindle  a  fire  in  their  own 
room.  It  is  bad  economy.  General  Wash- 
ington always  kindled  his  own  fire.  Are  you 
better  than  him  ?  Besides  the  economy  and 
advantage  of  learning  the  art  of  making  a 
fire  in  your  room,  there  is  in  the  practice  a 
positive  economy  of  health. 

WASTED  FUEL. — The  want  of  economy  in 
fuel  does  not  all  belong  to  the  city.  We 
have  a  lesson  for  the  country  as  well.  It  is 
the  economy  of  chips. 

CHIPS. — This  is  a  small  word,  but  it  has  a 
big  meaning.  What  should  we  do  without 
chips — chips  of  wood — not  "  chips  and  por- 
ridge," for  that  is  poor  diet — not  "  chips  of 
the  old  block,"  for  the  old  block  is  often  an 
old  blockhead — not,  however,  a  greater  one 
than  he  that  has  chips  and  does  not  save 
them  carefully  in  a  dry  place  to  kindle  his 
fire.  Chips  are  equally  valuable  in  town  or 
country,  yet  they  are  the  most  wasted  in  the 
latter,  for  there  they  are  left  in  the  woods  or 
at  the  wood-pile  to  rot,  and  by  many  farmers 
they  are  not  even  used  for  manure.  Herein 


296  ECONOMY  ILLUSTRATED. 

the  city,  those  who  make  chips  rarely  save 
them,  but  there  are  hosts  of  men  and  women 
and  little  boys  and  girls  constantly  engaged 
in  picking  np  every  chip  that  is  thrown  in 
the  street,  or  that  the  workman  hews  from 
his  timber  wherever  they  are  permitted  to 
come.  So  important  are  chips  in  the  city, 
where  nearly  all  onr  fuel  is  anthracite  coal, 
that  ingenious  mechanics  have  built  ma- 
chines to  make  chips  —  to  saw  and  split 
whole  shiploads  of  wood  into  chips,  which 
are  sold  by  the  barrel  to  families  or  retailed 
by  the  grocer  in  bundles.  We  have  often 
noticed  the  eagerness  with  which  the  little 
folks,  who  are  always  looking  out  for  a  waif, 
seize  upon  a  small  strip  that  has  been  swept 
into  the  street.  "  "Waste  not  a  chip,"  should 
be  a  standing  motto  in  every  family  in  town 
and  country.  Country  reader,  have  you  a 
wood-house  ?  And  if  you  have,  have  you  a 
storeroom  for  chips?  If  you  have  neither, 
you  may  be  an  honest  man,  and  may  not  be 
a  sloven,  and  may  not  have  a  scolding  wife  ; 
but  we  want  an  indorser  for  your  word  upon 
all  these  points.  No  country  house  was  ever 


CHIPS    WORTH    SAVING.  297 

complete  in  its  arrangements  that  had  not  a 
chip-room  where  all  the  chips  may  be  saved, 
and  where  dry  kindling-wood  can  always  be 
found.  None  of  the  many  wastes  about  a  farm 
are  worse  than  the  waste  of  chips.  None  of 
the  conveniences  of  life  are  more  convenient 
than  chips.  What  a  glorious  fire  is  that  in  the 
great  kitchen  fireplace,  made  of  a  green  log, 
a  seasoned  fir-stick  and  middle-wood,  topped 
off  with  the  two- bushel  basket  full  of  chips! 
But  their  great  value  is  to  kindle  the  fire, 
either  in  the  old  fireplace,  or  modern  grate, 
or  fashionable  stove.  Now  is  the  season  of 
making  chips  ;  now  is  the  time  to  save  chips 
— nqt  by  throwing  them  down  at  the  bottom 
of  the  wood-house  to  mold  and  always  be 
damp,  but  carefully  laid  up  in  a  dry  loft. 
Even  with  those  who  saw  their  wood,  there 
are  splinters  and  dry  bits  to  save,  and  we 
have  no  doubt,  when  the  economy  of  fuel  is 
well  understood,  that  all  saw-dust  will  be 
saved  and  compounded  with  pitch,  so  as  to 
make  good  kindling.  But  there  is  so  much 
comfort  in  chips  that  we  do  not  understand 
how  anybody  can  waste  them.  Only  think 
1,3* 


298  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

of  the  convenience  of  a  handful  of  dry  chips 
from  the  chip-room,  next  summer,  to  boil 
the  teakettle.  If  you  have  no  wood-house 
nor  chip-room — and  we  believe  a  few  farmers 
have  neither — we  conjure  you  to  cut  your 
summer  fire-wood  in  winter — cut  it  up 
ready  to  burn,  and  pile  it  up  in  the  form  of 
a  hay-stack,  with  the  chips  on  top.  So,  you 
save  your  chips. 

Now  a  word  about  the  economizing  of  fuel 
in  city  and  country.  Open  fireplaces  and 
grates  are  the  most  wasteful  of  heat,  though 
they  are,  probably,  the  most  saving  of 
health.  Red-hot  stoves  in  close  rooms  are 
among  the  abominations  of  the  age.  They 
save  heat  and  waste  health.  The  best  plan 
to  warm  a  house  for  a  family  is  to  place  a 
large  stove  in  the  hall,  and  then  you  can 
have  the  room-doors  open,  and  in  moderate 
weather  thus  warm  the  rooms  ;  and  in  colder 
days  a  small  fire  in  a  stove  or  grate  in 
the  room  will  make  it  comfortable,  and 
give  you  a  free  circulation  of  air  at  the 
same  time.  Houses  with  "  modern  improve- 
ments," of  course,  are  heated  with  hot-air 


HKAT    WASTED.  299 

furnaces  ;  some  of  them  are  hot-air  abomina- 
tions. The  perfection  of  heating  our  dwellings 
has  not  vet  been  reached,  nor  will  it  be,  until 
we  build  them  with  hollow  walls  and  floors, 
and  double  windows,  and  introduce  heated 
air  into  all  the  cavities.  As  houses  are  now 
constructed  and  warmed,  we  not  only  waste 
the  chips,  but  we  waste  one  half  the  heat 
generated  by  our  fuel.  It  is  high  time  that, 
in  more  senses  than  one,  we  should  save  the 
chips. 

We  should  like  to  know  the  percentage  or 
waste  of  coal  upon  all  that  is  burned  in  pri- 
vate houses  in  this  city,  where  grates  seem 
to  have  been  constructed  with,  apparently, 
little  or  no  object  in  view,  except  waste,  both 
of  heat  sent  up  the  chimney,  and  unburned 
coal  sent  to  the  ash- barrel. 

The  latter  is  so  great  as  to  afford  constant 
employment  to  some  thousand  persons,  who 
are  constantly  going  about  gathering  the 
fragments  of  coal  from  the  ashes  ;  and  still 
thousands  of  tons  every  year  are  carried  off 
in  the  ash-carts  to  fill  up  and  build  out  some 
wharf  whereon  to  land  more  coal.  The 


300  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

waste  of  heat  in  our  consumption  of  fuel  is, 
to  say  the  least,  fail  one  half.  In  fact,  if  all 
the  wasted  heat  of  all  our  coal-burning  fires 
in  the  city  were  saved  and  properly  distrib- 
uted, it  is  likely  that  the  consumption  would 
be  reduced  to  one  fourth  the  present  quantity  ; 
because  it  has  been  demonstrated  in  the 
heating  of  large  buildings,  that  heat  could  be 
carried  any  required  distance  in  pipes,  as  well 
as  gas  or  water,  and  by  surrounding  the  pipes 
in  the  ground  with  suitable  non-conduct- 
ing substances,  very  little  heat  would  be  lost. 
FIRE  KINDLERS. — Melt  three  pounds  of  resin 
in  a  quart  of  tar,  and  stir  in  as  much  saw- 
dust and  pulverized  charcoal  as  you  can,  and 
then  spread  the  mass  upon  a  board  till  cool, 
and  then  break  it  into  lumps  as  big  as  your 
thumb.  You  can  light  it  with  a  match,  and 
it  will  light  a  fire,  for  it  burns  with  a  strong 
blaze.  It  is  economical  of  time  and  money. 
It  may  cost  three  shillings,  and  save  ten 
shillings'  worth  of  wood. 


ECONOMY    IN    FOOD.  301 


CHAPTER  XL 

ECONOMY  IN  FOOD— WHAT  SHALL  WE  BAT  ? 

[Published  in  The  Tribune,  Nov.  14, 1855.] 

Economy  in  Food — Remedy  for  Hunger — Abuses  of  our 
Market  System — Economy  in  Buying — Fashionable  Beef 
—Nutrition  in  Food— What  shall  we  Buy  ? — Cheap  Food 
—Incontrovertible  Facts— How  to  Cook  Hominy — Hominy 
Recipes— A  Corn  Meal  Loaf — What  shall  we  Eat  1  etc. 

WITH  the  present  prices  of  rent,  fuel,  meat 
bread,  flour,  meal,  sugar,  potatoes,  and  other 
staple  articles  of  supply  for  a  family  in  New 
York,  it  only  requires  but  a  slight  insight 
into  the  condition  of  all  the  laboring  class 
to  see  that  the  cry  frequently  raised  for  an 
increase  of  wages  is  only  the  disguised  cry 
of  the  hungry  for  food.  Daily  wages  are 
daily  consumed  ;  and  often  the  only  means 
of  support  for  a  week  is  the  weekly  credit  of 
the  butcher,  b'aker,  and  grocer.  This  is  never 
given  except  at  an  increased  profit,  and  a 
little  too  often  at  a  profit  obtained  by  palpa- 
ble swindling  in  lightweights  and  measures, 
of  which  the  victims  dare  not  complain,  tor 


302  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

fear  of  losing  the  "  accommodation,"  as  the 
credit  is  called.  While  work  lasts  the  labor- 
er can  live  ;  when  it  fails,  he  has  nothing  in 
store  to  fall  hack  upon.  Whoever,  then,  will 
make  known  to  this  class  how  to  economize 
in  their  food,  so  as  to  increase  the  supply 
without  an  increase  of  expenditure,  will  be 
doing  them  a  greater  benefit  than  he  would 
in  a  life-long  harangue  on  politics,  either 
Hard  Shell,  Soft  Shell,  or  no  shell. 

We  need  not  repeat  here  how  hard  it  is  for 
those  dependent  upon  daily  employment  to 
furnish  their  families  with  suitable  food,  at  a 
time  when,  from  sickness  or  other  cause,  they 
are  not  in  receipt  of  wages. 

Too  often,  at  such  times,  there  is  deep  suf- 
fering; "and  sometimes  actual  starvation. 

Will  it  be  any  better  next  winter,  now  so 
rapidly  approaching,  that  it  sends  a  shudder 
through  many  a  family  circle  who  remember 
what  scenes  they  have  passed  through  in 
January,  February,  and  March  ? 

There  has  been,  there  is  now,  there  will  be 
much  suffering  for  food  in  this  city,  notwith- 
standing our  receipts  of  tens  of  thousands, 


REMEDY  FOE  HUNGEK.          30?> 

weekly,  of  butchers'  animals,  and  our  mil- 
lions of  bushels  of  corn,  and  wheat,  and  rye, 
and  oats,  and  barley,  arid  buckwheat,  and 
beans,  and  peas,  and  rice,  for  breadstuffs,  and 
daily  ship-loads  of  potatoes  of  both  kinds,  and 
untold  piles  of  other  edible  roots  and  vegeta- 
bles, and  great  storehouses  full  of  flour,  butter, 
cheese,  fish,  fruit,  eggs,  poultry,  and  salted 
meats,  and  a  thousand  unnamed  articles  of 
food  ;  yet  the  mass  are  not  full  fed,  and  why  ? 
Because  they  do  not  know  how  to  eat.  Not 
that  they  lack  the  animal  function  of  con- 
suming ;  but  in  providing,  both  in  the  pur- 
chase of  kind  and  quality,  and  in  the  prepa- 
ration, there  is  a  lamentable  want  of  judg- 
ment, and  utter  want  of  economy.  The 
want  of  food  among  the  poor  is  a  great  evil. 
It  breeds  discontent,  dissipation,  crime,  and 
ruin  to  any  civilized  society. 

There  is  a  remedy. 

It  would  be  greater  charity  to  teach  that 
remedy  than  to  establish  soup-houses. 

The  first  step  would  be  to  change  our 
fashion  of  food  ;  to  abandon  such  articles  as 
are  excessively  dear  in  the  raw  state,  for 


304  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

others  equally  good  and  more  nutritions, 
and  to  adopt  a  different  and  more  rational 
plan  of  cooking.  This  would  not  only 
promote  economy,  but  health  ;  both  of 
which  would  add  vastly  to  our  stock  of 
enjoyment. 

Without  exception,  both  rich  and  poor  in 
America  eat  extravagantly  of  animal  food, 
cooked  in  the  most  extravagant  and  waste- 
ful manner  ;  by  frying,  baking,  roasting,  or 
boiling,  and  throwing  away  half  of  the  nutri- 
tious matter  in  burned  gravy,  or  gelatine  dis- 
solved in  the  pot  liquor. 

Again,  we  consume  vast  quantities  of  the 
meanest  and  most  innutritions  vegetables, 
costly  at  first,  and  cooked  in  the  most  fool- 
ishly wasteful  manner.  The  fashion  of  ex- 
travagance in  living  is  set  by  the  rich,  and 
they  are  aped  in  their  folly  by  the  poor. 
The  consequence  is,  that  there  are  want 
and  suffering  whenever  work  and  wages 
fail. 

There  is  a  remedy.  The  only  question  is. 
how  it  shall  be  applied  ?  Better  than  charity 
would  be  organizations,  not  to  provide  food 


ABUSES    OF    OUR    MARKET    SYSTEM.          305 

for  the  poor,  but  to  teach  them  what  to  buy, 
and  how  to  use  it ;  how  to  economize  their 
money. 

The  very  first  step  toward  this  blessed 
state  of  things  should  be  taken  by  our  city 
government,  if  indeed  we  have  such  a  thing 
left  to  ns,  by  removing  all  restrictions  upon 
the  producer,  by  which  he  is  kept  away  from 
the  consumer.  We  pay  now  an  average  of 
thirty-three  per  cent,  advance  upon  every 
thing  that  is  eaten  in  New  York,  over  and 
above  what  we  should  pay  if  these  restric- 
tions were  removed. 

Let  every  one  who  has  bought  a  head  of 
cabbage  this  fall,  think  what  he  paid.  Six, 
ten,  or  twelve  cents  each,  while  the  produ- 
cer has  not  received  an  average  of  two  cents 
each.  The  turnip-eaters  are  paying  every 
day  at  the  rate  of  one  to  two  dollars  a  bushel. 
The  producer  is  receiving  an  average  of  less 
than  twenty  cents.  We  pay  for  many  things 
in  the  same  proportion,  owing  to  our  absurd 
and  wicked  market  regulations. 

The  producer  is  kept  away  from  the  con- 
sumer. He  is  not  permitted  to  come  into  the 


306  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

city  and  enjoy  tho  advantages  of  "  free  trade" 
in  his'own  produce.  Why  ?  The  city  fathers 
say  we  have  no  room — nowhere  for  him  to 
stand  his  wagon,  where  the  poor  man  or  the 
poor  woman  may  come  with  her  market  basket 
upon  her  arm,  and  get  it  filled  at  first  prices. 
Under  the  present  market  regulations,  all 
the  country  wagons  are  huddled  into  the 
cramped  space  around  Washington  Market, 
where  none  but  stout  men,  or  a  class  of  mar- 
ket bullies  can  get  to  them  ;  for,  in  addition 
to  the  crowding,  the  wagons  are  driven  out 
at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  city 
fathers  say  they  can  not  amend  this  error, 
because  they  have  nowhere  else  to  pnt  the 
wagons.  Give  producers  a  chance  to  sell  to 
consumers,  and  it  will  cheapen  family  mar- 
keting in  this  city  to  a  very  large  class  of 
consumers,  full  twenty-five  per  cent.  Make 
a  market-place  for  country  wagons,  and  there 
let  them  stand  and  sell  their  stuff  from  sun- 
rise till  ten  o'clock,  at  retail,  with  no  privi- 
lege, until  after  that  hour,  of  selling  at  whole- 
sale, or  leaving  the  stand,  unless  their  load 
is  all  sold  out. 


ECONOMY    IN    BUYING.  30T 

This  is  a  measure  of  relief  to  the  poor, 
easily  brought  about ;  one  that  would  pro- 
duce real  economy  in  food. 

Our  city  makes  paupers,  first  by  thwart- 
ing the  laborer  in  his  facilities  to  get  cheap 
food,  and  then  by  the  soup-house  system  of 
feeding  those  who  are  unable,  through  mis- 
fortune, to  obtain  a  supply. 

But  this  is  foreign  to  our  main  subject — 
economy  in  kind  and  quality  of  food  for  the 
industrious  poor. 

They  do  not  study  economy  in  their  pur- 
chases. All  kinds  of  fresh  meat  cost  from 
ten  to  twenty  cents  a  pound,  and  very  few 
Americans  are  willing  to  take  low  price 
meats  ;  and  generally  those  who  can  least 
afford  it,  call  for  a  rib  roast,  or  a  loin  steak 
of  beef,  or  a  leg  of  lamb  or  mutton,  or  a  loin 
of  veal  or  pork  ;  and  rarely  for  the  most  eco- 
nomical pieces.  A  rib  roast  of  six  pounds 
for  a  dollar,  in  a  poor  man's  family,  is 
slightly  extravagant ;  the  cooking  more  so. 
The  Jews'  religion  in  eating  meat  is  founded 
on  true  economy.  They  eat  only  the  fore 
quarters,  and  sell  the  more  expensive,  and 


308  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

less  valuable  hind  quarters,  to  the  Gentiles. 
The  fore  quarter  will  not  cut  steaks  and 
roasts  equal  to  the  hind  quarter,  but  it  is 
more  economical  for  soups,  stews,  pot-pies, 
or  cooking  in  any  form  with  vegetables  and 
gravy.  The  following  exhibit  will  show 
those  who  \vill  have  nothing  but  choice  cuts 
of  beef  why  they  have  to  pay  so  high  for 
them — it  is  because  nobody  will  buy  any 
thing  but  choice  cuts.  It  is  the  universal 
complaint  of  all  the  first-class  butchers  that 
they  can  not  sell  their  coarse  meat,  and 
"  plates  and  navels"  are  a  drug  upon  the 
packer's  hands  at  six  cents  a  pound.  JSTow  a 
good  bullock,  whose  quarters  will  weigh  800 
pounds,  will  cut  up  and  sell  at  about  the 
following  figures : 


Weight 
Ribs             130 

Price  per  Ib.      Amount. 
13c.            $16  90 

13                 16  90 
6                  8  40 
9                 11  70 
6                  5  40 
6                  6  00 
9                  3  60 
3                  1  05 

Hips  and  loins  

130 
140 
130 
90 
100 
40 
46 

800 

Chucks                  

Buttocks,  rump,  and  socket  .  . 
Plates  and  navel 

Shoulders,  clods,  and  brisket.  . 
Tops  of  sirloin  and  fat   

Legs  and  shins  .       

Total    . 

$69  95 

FASHIONABLE   BEEF.  309 

Weight    Price  per  Ib.    Amount. 


Hide    

..     85 

5 

84  25 

Fat  

..     90 

8 

7  20 

Tongue,  50c.  ;  feet,  25c  

75 

The  bullock,  at  lOc.  per  Ib.,  costs  $80— sells  for. .  .  $83  15 

Now  it  is  a  fact  that  a  great  portion  of 
the  above,  rated  at  six,  eight,  and  nine  cents, 
is  equally  good,  and  would  be  more  eco- 
nomical, at  the  same  price  per  pound,  than 
that  rated  at  thirteen  cents ;  but  fashion  dic- 
tates, and  folly  buys  ribs  and  loins,  and  for 
this  the  butcher  must  charge  high,  because 
he  can  not  get  any  body  to  buy  the  other 
parts  at  cost.  And  so  fashion  and  folly  keep 
up  the  price  of  beef.  •  The  man  or  woman 
with  scanty  means,  to  fill  the  market  basket, 
not  only  buys  dear  meats,  but  crude,  innu- 
tritions vegetables,  such  as  cabbage,  turnips, 
and  potatoes  ;  for,  notwithstanding  so  many 
persons  think  potatoes  a  necessary  article  of 
food,  they  are  not  an  economical  one ;  and 
all  the  cruder  substances  of  vegetable  food, 
though  necessary  and  healthful,  should  not 
be  sought  after  because  cheap,  to  save  money. 

The  most  economical  mode  of  preparing 


310  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

food  is  a  due  mixture  of  meat  and  vegetable 
substance  in  the  form  of  soups ;  but  no  man 
should  live  upon  soup  alone,  any  more  than 
he  should  upon  meat  or  fine  flour  bread. 
Health,  as  well  as  appetite,  requires  variety. 
It  happens,  now  that  breadstuffs,  notwith- 
standing the  high  price  of  bread  and  flour, 
are  the  cheapest  of  all  human  food ;  and  it 
also  happens  that  by  onr  slavery  of  fashion 
we  do  not  use  the  cheapest  kinds  of  this  kind 
of  cheap  food. 

The  following  are  the  retail  prices  of  some 
of  the  principal  articles  of  food  in  New  York, 
Oct.,  1855: 

Flour,  per  bbl $12  00  per  lb.,  6^c. 

Sago —  "  "     8  to  9c. 

Farina —  "  "  12  to  15c. 

Bread "  "     64c. 

Corn  meal,  per  cwt 2  75  to  $3  00  "  "     3^c. 

Buckwheat  meal,  per  cwt.  3  00  to  $3  50  "  "     3i  to  4c. 

Barley  meal,  per  cwt 300  "  "     3i  to  4c. 

Oatmeal,  per  cwt 4  00  to  $4  50  "  "     5  to  64c. 

Rye  flour,  per  bbl 7  00  "  "    4  to  4Jc. 

Hominy,  per  cwt 4  00  "  "     5c. 

Cracked  wheat,  per  cwt.  .  5  50  "  "     6c. 

Split  psas,  per  bushel. ...  2  25  "  "     4Jc. 

Whole  peas,  per  bushel. . .  2  50  "  "    5c. 

White  beans,  per  bushel..  200  "  "    4£  to'Sc. 

Dried  sweet  corn,  per  bus.  4  50  "  "  10  to  12£. 

Rice,  per  cwt 6  00  "  "    6  to  7c. 


NUTRITION    IN    FOOD.  311 

Potatoes,  per  bbl.,  SI  50  to  SI  75 ;  per  bushel,  75  cents; 
per  lb.,  l^c. 

Macaroni  and  vermicelli,  11  to  12  cents  per  Ib. 

Sugar,  8  to  11  cents  per  lb. 

Butter,  per  lb  ,  averages  28  cents.  Cheese,  12  to  14 
cents. 

Apples,  per  bbl.,  $2  to  $3  50;  per  bushel,  $1  average. 

All  kinds  of  meat,  salt  and  fresh,  and  all  sorts  of  fish, 
will  average  12£  cents  a  pound  to  the  buyer  of  small 
quantities. 

Eggs  are  worth  25  cents  per  dozen,  which  is  about  18 
cents  per  lb.  A  dozen  eggs,  average  size,  will  weigh  one 
pound  six  ounces. 

Turnips,  per  bushel,  25  cents ;  carrots,  50  cents ;  beets, 
50  cents ;  onions,  75  cents ;  cabbage,  about  2  cents  a  pound. 

Dried  fruits,  per  lb. — Apples,  7  to  8  cents ;  pears,  15  to 
20  cents;  plums,  8  to  14  cents;  cherries,  15  to  20  cents; 
peaches,  15  to  18  cents;  raisins,  8  to  12£  cents. 

The  following  is  the  proportion  of  nutri- 
tious matter  and  water  in*  each  of  the  follow- 
ing substances : 

Lbs.  Substances.                       Lbs.  nut  mat.           Lbs.  water. 

100    Wheat  flour 90 10 

100    Corn  meal 91  9 

100    Rice 86  14 

100    Barley  meal 88  12 

100    Eye  flour 79  21 

100     Oatmeal 75   25 

100    Potatoes 22£ 77| 

100    White  beans 95  5 

100    Carrots 10  90 

100     Turnips 4£ 95J 

100    Cabbage 7£ 92£ 

100    Beets 16  85 

100  Strawberries..                   .  10  . ,                ,.90 


312  ECONOMY  ILLUSTRATED. 

Lbs.        Substances.  Lbs.  nut.  mat  Lbs.  water. 

100  Pears 16  84 

100  Apples.... 16  84 

100  Cherries 25   75 

100  Plums 29  71 

100  Apricots  . .' 26  74 

100  Peaches 20  80 

100  Grapes 27   73 

100  Melons 3 97 

100  Cucumbers 2£ 97$ 

Meats,  generally,  are  about  three  fourths 
water,  and  milk,  as  it  comes  from  the  cow, 
over  ninety  per  cent.  How  is  it  as  it  comes 
from  the  milkmen? 

It  is  true  that  this  chemical  analysis  does 
not  give  us  the  exact  comparative  value  of 
food,  but  with  that,  and  the  prices  of  the 
various  articles,  it  can  not  be  a  hard  matter 
to  determine  what  is  the  cheapest  or  most 
economical  kind  of  food  for  us  to  use. 

Perhaps  of  all  the  articles  named,  taking 
into  account  the  price  and  nutritious  quali- 
ties, oatmeal  will  give  the  greatest  amount 
of  nutriment  for  the  least  money.  But 
where  will  you  find  it  in  use?  Not  one 
family  in  a  thousand  ever  saw  the  article ; 
not  one  in  a  hundred  ever  heard  of  it,  and 
many  who  have  heard  of  it  have  a  vague 


WHAT   SHALL   WE   BUY?  313 

impression  that  none  but  starving  Scotch  or 
Irish  ever  used  it;  and,  in  short,  that  oats, 
in  America,  are  only  fit  food  for  pigs  and 
horses. 

It  is  a  great  mistake.  Oatmeal  is  excel- 
lent in  porridge,  and  all  sorts  of  cooking  of 
that  sort,  and  oatmeal  cakes  are  sweet,  nutri- 
tious, and  an  antidote  for  dyspepsia.  Just 
now,  we  believe  oats  are  the  cheapest  of  any 
grain  in  market,  and  it  is  a  settled  fact  that 
oats  give  the  greatest  amount  of  power  of 
any  grain  consumed  by  man  or  beast. 

This  cheap  food  only  needs  to  be  fashion- 
able, to  be  extremely  popular  among  all 
laborers,  all  of  whom,  to  say  nothing  of 
other  classes,  eat  too  much  fine  flour  bread. 

Cracked  wheat  and  loaf  bread  cost  the 
same  price,  or  perhaps  a  less  price  for  the 
wheat  by  the  pound.  A  pound  of  the  wheat, 
properly  cooked,  is  worth  more  than  four 
pounds  of  bread. 

Hominy,  samp,  hulled  corn,  we  have  so 
often  recommended  and  urged  upon  the  at- 
tention of  all,  both  rich  and  poor,  as  cheap, 
wholesome,  nutritious  food,  that  we  have 
14 


314  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

induced  many  to  try  it,  who  would  not  give 
it  up  now  under  any  consideration.  We  re- 
iterate all  that  we  have  ever  said  in  its  favor. 
Thirty  years'  experience  in  its  use  only  serves 
to  confirm  us  in  the  opinion  that  it  is  such 
excellent  and  economical  food,  that  too  much 
can  not  be  said  in  its  favor.  The  only  thing 
necessary  in  its  cooking,  is  to  cook  it  enough 
— it  can  not  be  cooked  too  much. 

Every  family  should  eat  beans  and  peasy 

» 
because  of  all  articles  they  afford  the  most 

nutriment  for  the  least  money. 

One  pound  of  cheap  meat,  say  at  ten 
cents,  and  one  pound  of  split  peas,  say  five 
cents,  will  give  a  fuller  dinner  to  a  family 
than  a  dollar  expended  for  beefsteak  and 
white  bread.  This  is  a  kind  of  economy 
that  should  be  known,  and  rigidly  practiced. 

One  bushel  of  white  beans  will  feed  more 
laboring  men  than  eight  bushels  of  potatoes. 
The  beans  will  cost  two  dollars,  potatoes  six. 

A  single  quart  of  beans  costs  nine  cents ; 
a  half  pound  of  salt  pork,  six  cents ;  a  pound 
of  hominy,  five  cents  \  and  that  will  give  a 
meal  to  a  larger  family  than  a  dollar's  worth 


CHEAP   FOOD.  315 

of  roast  beef,  white  bread,  potatoes,  and 
other  vegetables. 

We  would  not  contine  the  laborer  or  the 
poorest  family  to  this  cheap  food  ;  but  we  do 
insist  that  it  is  their  duty  to  substitute  such 
food,  occasionally,  in  place  of  that  which  is 
more  expensive,  and  thus,  by  saving,  lay  up 
a  few  dollars  in  the  savings  bank  to  save 
themselves  from  the  mere  life-saving  con- 
trivance, the  soup-house. 

We  hope  never  to  see  another  of  these 
pauper-making  establishments  in  operation 
again  in  this  city.  Let  men  think  twice  be- 
fore they  open  another  one. 

But  let  every  one  think  of  the  economy  of 
making  a  soup-house  at  home.  We  spoke 
of  pea-soup.  Is  there  any  living  witness  of 
that  good  old  Yankee  dish  of  cheap  food, 
called  bean  porridge?  Let  it  be  revived  in 
every  family — among  the  rich  as  a  luxury, 
and  among  the  poor  as  an  article  of  economy. 

There  is  another  Yankee  dish  besides  bean 
soup  and  baked  beans  that  we  should  like  to 
see  revived,  and  that  is  the  baked  Indian-meal 
pudding  ;  and  this  brings  us  to  Indian  bread, 


316  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

a  mixture  of  two  thirds  corn  meal  and  one 
third  rye  meal,  not  rye  flour,  which  makes 
most  delicious  bread  at  less  than  one  half 
the  cost  of  wheat  flour. 

"We  could  go  on  a  long  time  pointing  out 
the  errors  of  living,  in  which  economy  is  lost 
sight  of,  if  we  thought  the  wished-for  effect 
would  be  produced.  We  urge  all  to  think 
of  what  we  have  said,  and  that  one  of  the 
best  things  that  can  be  done  for  the  poor  is 
to  teach  them  practical  economy  in  every- 
day life. 

No  charitable  societies  have  ever  done  so 
much  good  to  the  poor  by  the  distribution  of 
food  as  they  could  do  by  printing  and  put- 
ting into  the  hands  of  every  family  a  little 
tract  containing  practical  lessons  of  economy 
in  the  art  of  living  well  and  living  cheap — 
an  art  that  would  prevent  the  waste  of  food, 
and  lessen  the  expense  of  first  purchases, 
and  increase  the  nutritious  qualities,  while 
it  added  immensely  to  the  table  enjoyment 
of  every  family. 

In  a  great  majority  of  cases  it  may  be  set 
down  as  an  incontrovertible  fact  that  want 


INCONT.KOVEKTIBLE    FACTS.  31 7 

comes  of  waste,  and  waste  comes  of  want  of 
knowledge  of  the  properties  of  different  arti- 
cles of  food,  and  how  to  combine  them  so  as 
to  produce  the  most  beneficial  effect. 

It  may  be  set  down  as  another  incontro- 
vertible fact,  that  no  class  of  people  can 
want  food  and  remain  virtuous.  Their  de- 
generacy, both  physically  and  morally,  is 
certain.  It  is  our  religious  duty,  then,  to 
study  and  teach  economy  in  food,  and  the 
art  of  living  better  and  cheaper;  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  principles  that  promote 
health,  vigor,  intellectual  capacity,  comfort, 
happiness,  and  morality  of  the  human  family. 

How  much  good  would  come  of  it  if  we 
should  practice  upon  the  text  that  forms  the 
title  of  this  article !  Let  those  who  read  and 
think  first  set  the  example ;  the  unthinking 
will  follow,  and  their  children  will  rise  up 
and  call  them  blessed. 


I  think  that  I  can  afford  to  devote  one 
chapter  to  a  dissertation  upon 

HOMINY. 
Hominy  we  have  before  given  our  opinion 


318  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

upon.  It  is  an  article  that  no  family,  desir- 
ous of  practicing  economy,  can  do  without. 
It  is  a  very  cheap,  healthy,  nutritious  food. 
It  usually  costs  only  half  the  price  per  pound 
of  flour,  and  contains  no  moisture,  while  the 
best  of  flour  holds  from  twelve  to  sixteen 
pounds  of  water  in  a  barrel. 

I  have  known  potatoes,  hominy,  and  white 
beans  to  be  all  sold  at  the  same  price,  $2  50 
a  bushel,  and  rice  but  a  little  dearer.  If  a 
man  can  afford  to  eat  fried  gold  for  break- 
fast, boiled  bank-notes  for  dinner,  and  roast- 
ed dollars  for  supper,  he  can  afford  to  eat 
potatoes  cooked  in  the  same  way,  and  not 
otherwise,  at  such  high  prices.  In  point  of 
economy  as  human  food,  one  bushel  of  beans 
or  hominy  is  equal  to  ten  of  potatoes. 

It  is  surprising  how  little  is  known  of  this 
nutritious,  healthy  food  ;  and  what  an  excel- 
lent substitute  it  is  for  potatoes  during  the 
continuance  of  the  disease  among  them, 
which  renders  some  that  are  fair  to  the  eye 
unfit  for  food,  and  all  exceedingly  dear,  even 
at  the  present  rate  of  about  one  dollar  and 
a  half  a  bushel  as  an  average  cost  to  the 


HOW   TO    COOK   HOMINY.  319 

consumer    in    New    York,    in    December, 
1855. 

Hominy,  too,  is  a  dish  almost  as  univer- 
sally liked  as  potatoes,  and  at  the  South  it  is 
more  freely  eaten ;  while  at  the  North  it  is 
seldom  seen.  In  fact,  it  is  an  unknown  food 
except  to  a  few  persons  in  cities.  By  hom- 
iny, we  do  not  mean  a  sort  of  coarse  meal, 
but  grains  of  white  corn  from  which  the  hull 
and  chit,  or  eye,  has  been  removed  by  moist- 
ening and  pounding  in  a  wooden  mortar,  or 
patent  hulling  machine,  leaving  the  grains 
almost  whole,  and  composed  of  little  else  but 
starch.  It  has  often  been  said,  not  one  cook 
in  ten  knows  how  to  boil  a  potato.  We  may 
add  another  cipher  when  speaking  of  the 
very  simple  process  of  cooking  hominy. 
We  give  the  formula  from  our  own  experi- 
ence, and  from  instructions  received  in  a 
land  where  "hog  and  hominy"  are  well 
understood.  Wash  slightly  in  cold  water, 
and  soak  twelve  hours  in  tepid,  soft  water, 
then  boil  slowly  from  three  to  six  hours  in 
same  water,  with  plenty  more  added  from 
time  to  time  with  great  care  to  prevent  burn- 


320  ECONOMY    ILLUSTKATEU. 

ing.  Don't  salt  while  cooking,  as  that  or  hard 
water  will  harden  the  corn  ;  so  it  will  peas  or 
beans,  green  or  dry,  and  rice  also.  When 
done,  add  butter  and  salt ;  or  a  better  way  is 
to  let  each  one  season  to  suit  the  taste.  It 
may  be  eaten  with  meat  in  lieu  of  vegetables, 
or  with  milk,  sugar,  or  syrup.  It  is  good,  hot 
or  cold,  and  the  more  frequently  it  is  warmed 
over,  it  is  like  the  old-fashioned  pot  of 

"  Bean  porridge  hot,  or  bean  porridge  cold, 
Bean  porridge  best  at  nine  days  old." 

So  is  hominy ;  it  is  good  always,  and  very 
wholesome,  and,  like  tomatoes,  only  requires 
to  be  eaten  once  or  twice  to  fix  the  taste  in 
its  favor. 

In  this  city  the  article  is  called  samp,  and 
the  name  hominy  is  given  to  corn  cracked  in 
a  mill,  and  winnowed  and  sifted,  and  num- 
bered according  to  its  fineness. 

It  is  cheap,  healthy  food.  I  have  thought 
proper  to  add  a  few  of  the  ways  in  which 
hominy  may  be  used. 

HOMINY  BREAKFAST  CAKES. — Mash  the  cold 
hominy  with  a  rolling-pin,  and  add  a  little 
flour-and-milk  batter,  so  as  to  make  the 


HOMINY    RECIPES.  321 

whole  thick  enough  to  form  into  little  cakes 
in  the  hand,  or  it  may  be  put  upon  the  grid- 
dle with  a  spoon.  Bake  brown,  eat  hot,  and 
declare  you  never  ate  any  thing  better  of  the 
batter-cake  kind. 

HOMINY  AND  MILK,  hot  or  cold,  is  as  much 
better  than  mush  and  milk  as  that  is  better 
than  rye-meal  porridge. 

HOMINY  PUDDING. — Prepare  as  for  batter 
cakes,  add  one  egg  to  each  pint,  some  whole 
cinnamon,  sugar  to  suit  the  taste,  and  a  few 
raisins,  and  bake  like  rice  pudding.  A  little 
butter  or  chopped  suet  may  be  added.  Serve 
hot  or  cold,  with  or  without  sauce. 

HOMINY  SALAD. — To  a  pint  of  cold  hominy 
add  a  small  onion,  a  quarter  of  a  boiled 
chicken,  or  about  the  same  quantity  of  lob- 
ster, choppe'd  tine,  to  Mrhich  some  add  a 
small  pickle.  To  be  dressed  with  sweet  oil, 
mustard,  pepper,  and  vinegar.  It  is  a  very 
good  substitute  for  green  salads  at  seasons 
when  the  latter  can  not  be  obtained. 

HOMINY  AND  BEANS. — Mix  equal  parts  of 
cold  baked  beans  and  hominy  together,  and 
heat  up,  and  you  will  have  an  excellent  dish. 
14* 


322 


ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 


HOMINY  BEATING. — We  presume  we  have 
heard  of  a  still  evening,  while  floating  in  our 
skiff  down  the  Ohio  River,  in  days 

"  Long,  long  ago," 

a  hundred  hominy  mortars  in  operation,  as 
this  is  or  was  a  common  occupation  of  the 
negroes'  evenings,  beating  their  favorite  food. 

Of  late  years,  throughout  the  South,  the 
ground  hominy,  or  cracked  corn,  has  in  a 
great  measure  driven  the  old  hominy  mortar 
out  of  use.  This  is  cooked  in  the  same  way, 
by  soaking  and  boiling,  until  it  becomes 
gelatinous,  and  then,  when  cold,  if  cut  in 
slices  and  fried  in  a  little  fat,  will  often  be 
eaten  in  preference  to  any  other  bread. 

At  the  South,  negroes  prefer  corn  meal  to 
wheat  flour,  pound  for  pound.  It  is  ground 
very  coarse,  and  frequently  eaten,  hulls  and 
all,  in  preference  to  sifting. 

The  full  allowance  for  a  laboring  man  or 
woman — one  that  toils  all  the  hours  of  day- 
light in  the  field — is  a  peck  and  a  half  of 
corn  meal  and  three  and  a  half  pounds  of  fat 
bacon.  In  the  cotton  States  the  average 
price  of  the  corn  is  about  seventy-five  cents 


A   CORN    MEAL    LOAF.  323 

a  bushel,  and  the  price  of  the  bacon  eight 
cents  a  pound.  This  would  make  the  week's 
rations  cost  fifty-six  cents  a  week.  At  still 
higher  rates,  it  would  not  be  a  dime  a  day; 
in  many  places,  not  half  that.  In  many 
places,  though,  the  negroes  do  not  get  half 
the  above  rations.  In  this  city  a  peck  and  a 
half  of  meal  and  three  and  a  half  pounds  of 
bacon  would  average  a  cost  of  ninety  cents. 
Few  would  be  willing  to  live  upon  that 
alone.  It  would  not  be  good  economy  to  do 
so.  It  would  be  good  economy  for  us  all  to 
use  more  Indian  corn  meal.  I  offer  to  those 
who  will  try  the  economy  as  well  as  palata- 
bleness  of  a  loaf  of  wheat  and  Indian  bread, 
the  following  good  receipt : 

To  two  quarts  of  Indian  meal  add  boiling 
water  enough  to  wet  the  same ;  when  suffi- 
ciently cooled,  add  one  teaspoonful  of  salt, 
half  a  pint  of  yeast,  one  teaspoonful  of  sale- 
ratus,  one  half  teacupful  of  molasses,  and 
flour  enough  to  form  it  into  a  loaf  (it  should 
not  be  kneaded  hard) ;  when  light,  bake  two 
hours  in  a  well-heated  oven.  (It  should  be 
baked  until  brown.) 


324  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

All  corn  bread  should  be  cooked  a  long 
time.  The  negroes  often  bury  the  dough  in 
the  hot  embers  all  night. 

Economy  in  choking  is  as  much  required 
as  economy  in  purchasing  the  food. 

Domestic  happiness  is  greatly  dependent 
upon  the  manner  in  which  the  cooking  de- 
partment of  the  household  is  managed,  whe- 
ther by  the  mistress  or  a  hireling. 

A  cook  who  can  make  a  good  loaf  of 
bread,  boil  a  potato  aright,  or  broil  a  mut- 
ton chop  properly,  is  one  of  a  thousand,  and 
perhaps  she  would  not  know  how  to  make  a 
pot  of  mush,  because  it  is  so  seldom  made, 
where  its  use  would  promote  both  health 
and  economy. 

Despising  household  duties  is  one  of  the 
sins  of  American  women.  A  woman  need 
not  be  a  drudge,  or  slave  to  care,  but  still  be 
the'  director  of  all  the  household  affairs. 
The  woman,  whatever  her  position  and 
wealth,  who  attends  to  her  own  housekeep- 
ing affairs,  reaps  her  reward  in  improved 
health  and  freedom  from  lassitude,  which 
she  suffers  through  neglect  of  exercise. 


WHAT    SHALL    WE    EAT?  325 

Many  a  mother  lias  unwittingly  pampered 
her  children's  appetites  till  she  has  created 
disease,  and  inbred  into  their  natures  profli- 
gacy and  selfishness.  If  the  economy  of 
food  was  understood,  it  would  save  many 
errors.  Nothing  that  is  unwholesome  for 
children  should  be  ever  set  before  them. 

How  many  doctors'  bills  are  made  by  in- 
attention to  diet ! 

This  is  poor  economy.  So  it  is  to  despise 
any  of  the  little  matters  about  household  ex- 
penses, that  would  save  the  expenditure  of 
money. 

Look  how  much  you  could  save  in  a  year, 
or  decade  of  years,  by  this  simple  text — 

WHAT   SHALL    WE    EAT? 

It  is  one  of  the  most  frequent  and  most 
unanswerable  questions  in  the  human  family. 

With  a  hard  winter — every  winter  is  hard 
for  the  poor — before  us — with  the  cold  winds 
of  the  dreary  month  of  December  peering 
into  every  crack  of  our  houses — with  labor 
scarce  and  wages  low,  particularly  to  every 
woman  who  depends  upon  the  work  of  her 
fingers  for  food — with  a  large  population  out 


326  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

of  employment — with  suffering  staring  all  in 
the  face  who  depend  upon  daily  wages,  and 
make  no  daily  provision  for  a  day  of  trouble 
— with  the  price  of  food,  and  fuel,  and  rent 
as  high  as  it  is  in  this  city,  it  behooves  every 
one  to  inquire  :  What  shall  we  eat? 

When  wages  are  two  dollars  a  day,  the 
laboring  man  may  eat  roast  beef  and  plum 
pudding ;  but  if  lie  does  so  often,  he  knows 
little  of  economy. 

We  can  not  cheapen  food,  but  we  can  eat 
cheaper  food  ;  and  whatever  will  tend  to 
teach  those"  who  look  long  at  a  Dime  before 
they  spend  it,  what  to  bny,  will  be  to  them 
a  blessing.  Whatever  I  can  show  them 
what  to  eat,  less  expensive  than  their  accus- 
tomed diet,  should  be  at  once  adopted. 
Although  I  may  repeat  something  said  be- 
fore in  these  pages,  I  shall  make  the  follow- 
ing suggestions  upon  this  page  : 

Fresh  meat  of  all  kinds,  at  the  prices  at 
which  butchers  retail  it,  is  not  economical 
food.  Meats  will  average  over  a  shilling  a 
pound.  Salted  meats  are  cheaper  than  fresh. 
In  economizing  food,  meat  should  never  be 


COOKING    MKAT. 


327 


fried  or  boiled.  If  you  would  get  the  most 
substance  out  of  fresh  meat,  make  it  into 
soup,  or  stew,  or  pot-pie.  In  making  soup, 
soak  your  meat  some  hours  in  cold  water, 
and  boil  it  in  the  same.  Thicken  with  beans, 
peas,  rice,  barley,  hominy,  or  broken  bread. 
The  best  meat  is  the  most  economical  for 
soup.  Do  not  buy  bones. 

If  you  boil  meat  to  eat,  never  put  it  in 
cold  water.  Let  it  be  boiling  when  you  put 
the  meat  in  the  pot.  Do  not  buy  fresh  meat 
a  pound  or  two  at  a  time.  Buy  a  quarter  or 
half  a  sheep.  You  get .  it  at  half  price. 
Beef  or  pork  by  the  quarter  is  a  quarter 
cheaper. 

True,  the  woman  with  the  Dime  can  not 
partake  of  this  advantage.  Many  families 
can  that  do  not.  Many  could  unite,  one 
with  another,  and  buy  at  wholesale  rates. 
It  is  a  kind  of  economy,  worth  more  than  a 
Dime.  Look  at  the  "  flour  leagues"  that 
have  been  formed  in  the  Eastern  States,  by 
which  families  have  obtained  their  flour  one 
or  two  dollars  cheaper  in  a  barrel.  So  the 
man  who  studies  economy  may  save  a  dime 


328  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

here,  a  dollar  there,  which  at  last  will  amount 
to  an  eagle. 

A  dollar  saved  upon  a  barrel  of  flour  is 
equal  to  a  gift  of  sixteen  loaves  of  bakers' 
bread.  But,  I  repeat,  do  not  buy  your  bread 
ready  baked.  It  is  sixpence  a  pound.  Dry 
flour  is  the  same  price.  Home-made  bread 
is  far  more  nutritious. 

RYE  AND  INDIAN  BEE  AD. — Here  is  a  good 
receipt  for  making  this  cheap,  wholesome 
bread : 

Stir  and  mix  most  thoroughly  two  quarts 
of  Indian  corn  meal  with  a  tablespoonful  of 
salt  and  a  quart  of  boiling  water,  or  enough 
to  wet  every  grain  of  meal.  When  the  mush 
cools  to  milk-warm,  stir  in  one  quart  of  rye 
meal,  and  a  teacupt'ul  of  good  yeast,  which 
you  will  first  mix  with  half  a  pint  of  warm 
water,  so  that  the  yeast  will  be  more  evenly 
diffused.  With  the  rye  meal  add  water 
enough  to  make  the  mass  a  stiff  dough,  but 
not  as  liard  or  tough  as  flour.  It  must  be 
kneaded  with  the  hands.  [Remember — rye 
meal  is  not  rye  flour.  It  is  the  product  of 
the  whole  grain.]  Put  the  dough  in  a  pan. 


GOOD    BKEAD. 

and  pat  it  smooth  with  a  wet  hand.  It  will 
rise  in  an  hour,  in  a  warm  place,  enough  to 
bake,  and  should  be  put  in  a  hot  oven,  and 
remain  three  hours ;  or,  if  all  night,  all  the 
better. 

We  should  make  greater  use  of  home-made 
bread,  and  then  we  should  escape  the  dele- 
terious adulterations  of  the  baker,  not  half 
of  which  have  I  mentioned. 

Every  family,  whether  rich  or  poor,  or  in 
town  or  country,  should  make  it  a  religious 
duty  to  make  use  of  more  corn  meal,  oatmeal, 
Graham  flour,  hominy,  and  cracked  wheat 
for  bread,  in  preference  to  fine  wheat  flour, 
both  for  health  and  economy.  Look  at  the 
relative  retail  prices  per  pound  of  these 
articles  on  page  310,  and  see  which  will  give 
the  most  nutriment  for  the  least  money  ;  not 
which  will  afford  you  the  most  fashionable 
bread.  If  white  fine  flour  was  not  fashion- 
able, or  if  people  did  not  think  that  brown 
bread  has  a  look  of  poverty,  we  should  have 
the  brown  bread  upon  every  table,  for  it  is  not 
only  more  economical,  it  is  more  nutritious 
and  more  healthy,  particularly  for  children. 


330  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

We  do  not  eat  oatmeal  in  this  country  to 
any  extent,  and  yet  it  is  the  most  nutritious 
breadstuff  ever  used  by  man.  Look  at  the 
Scotch  with  their  oatmeal  porridge — as  ro- 
bust a  set  of  men  as  ever  lived. 

A  Highlander  will  scale  mountains  all  day 
upon  a  diet  of  oatmeal  stirred  with  his  fin- 
ger in  water,  fresh  from  a  gurgling  spring, 
in  a  leather  cup.  Another  excellent,  though 
Httle  used  breadstuff,  particularly  for  the 
sedentary,  or  persons  of  costive  habits,  is 
cracked  wheat,  or  wheaten  grits,  as  the  arti- 
cle is  called.  That  and  Graham  flour  should 
be  used  in  preference,  at  the  same  price  per 
pound,  to  white  flour,  because  more  healthy 
and  more  nutritious.  One  hundred  pounds 
of  Graham  flour  is  worth  full  as  much  in  a 
family  as  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  pounds 
of  superfine  white  flour.  Corn  meal  usually 
costs  less  than  half  the  price  of  flour.  It  is 
worth  twice  as  much.  It  is  not  so  economi- 
cal in  summer,  because  it  takes  so  much  fire 
to  cook  it.  The  first  great  error  in  preparing 
corn  meal  is  in  grinding  it  too  much,  and 
next  in  not  cooking  it  enough.  Corn  meal 


PORK    AND   BEANS. 


381 


mush  should  boil  two  hours ;  it  is  better  if 
boiled  four,  and  not  fit  to  eat  if  boiled  less 
than  one  hour.  Buckwheat  flour  should 
never  be  purchased  by  a  family  who  are 
obliged  to  economize  food.  It  is  dear  at  any 
price,  because  it  must  be  floated  in  dear 
butter  to  be  eaten,  and  then  it  is  not  healthy. 
Oatmeal  makes  as  good  cakes  as  buckwheat, 
and  far  more  nutritious.  But  it  is  more  nu- 
tritious, and  is  particularly  healthy  for  chil- 
dren, in  the  form  of  porridge. 

PORK  AND  BEANS. — Perhaps  I  run  the  risk 
of  ridicule  by  reiterating  here,  what  I  have 
so  often  asserted,  that  white  beans,  at  the 
ordinary  prices,  in  most  places,  if  not  all, 
are  the  cheapest,  because  the  most  nutritious 
of  all  vegetables.  Beans  enter  very  largely 
into  the  diet  of  the  inhabitants  of  some 
countries.  This  is  particularly  the,  case  in 
Mexico.  Baked  beans,  with  salt  pork,  used 
to  be  one  of  the  most  common  dishes  in  New 
England.  I  have  read  somewhere  that  Pro- 
fessor Liebig  has  stated  that  pork  and  beans 
form  a  compound  of  substances  peculiarly 
adapted  to  furnish  all  that  is  necessary  to 


382  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

support  life,  and  give  bone,  muscle,  and  fat, 
in  proper  proportions,  to  a  man.  This  food 
will  enable  one  to  perform  more  labor,  at 
less  cost,  than  any  other  substance.  A  quart 
of  beans,  eight  cents,  half  a  pound  of  pork, 
six  cents,  will  feed  a  large  family  for  a  day, 
with  good  strengthening  food. 

BEAN  PORRIDGE  is  another  of  the  old- 
fashioned  dishes  of  New  England.  We 
should  call  it  bean  soup  now.  Four  quarts 
of  beans  and  two  pounds  of  corned  beef, 
"boiled  to  rags"  in  fifty  quarts  of  water, 
would  give  a  good  meal  to  fifty  men — one 
cent  a  meal. 

POTATOES  NOT  CHEAP  FOOD.  —  Potatoes 
should  be  utterly  abandoned  by  the  poor, 
when  a  dollar  a  bushel  is  the  selling  price. 
They  can  not  afford  to  eat  them.  Potatoes 
sell,  at  wholesale,  for  an  average  of  two  dol- 
lars a  barrel,  which  is  eighty-seven  and  a 
half  cents  a  bnsjiel.  At  retail,  the  poor  pay 
two  dollars  a  bushel,  or  about  four  cents  a 
pound,  which  is  about  as  much  as  corn  meal; 
more  than  half  as  much  as  fine  flour  ;  nearly 
as  much  a  bushel  as  beans,  while  one  bushel 


DKAB    VEGETABLES. 

of  the  latter  are  worth,  for  food,  as  much  as 
a  cart-load  of  potatoes.  All  other  vegetables 
are  still  more  uneconomical  than  potatoes. 
Carrots  are  the  cheapest  of  all  roots.  But 
they  are  but  little  used  as  human  food,  though 
very  nutritious.  They  are  good,  simple  boiled, 
and  eaten  with  a  little  butter  or  meat  gravy. 
They  should  always  form  an  ingredient  of 
soup.  They  are  sold  by  the  quantity,  at 
fifty  cents  a  bushel.  Turnips  are  dear  at 
any  price.  There  is  more  nutriment  in  a 
quart  of  carrots  than  in  a  bushel  of  turnips. 
They  are  eighty-two  per  cent,  water.  Cab- 
bage is  nutritious,  but  very  expensive.  Buy 
very  little  of  it  if  your  money  is  short. 
Dried  sweet  corn  is  an  article  that  all  per- 
sons are  fond  of.  It  sells  for  four  dollars  to 
live  dollars  a  bushel,  which  weighs  forty-two 
pounds,  and  would  retail  at  about  ten  cents 
a  pound.  We  don't  know  about  the  econ- 
omy of  eating  it,  as  compared  with  other 
breadstuffs,  but  as  compared  with  coarse 
vegetables  it  is  immeasurably  cheaper.  A 
pound  of  sweet  corn  cooked  to  be  eaten  with 
meat,  is  worth  more  than  three  pounds  of 


ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

extra  meat.  It  is  also  very  excellent  and 
nutritious  mixed  in  the  bean  soup. 

Another  very  excellent,  nutritious,  econo- 
mical article  of  food  is  dried  peas.  They  are 
generally  a  little  more  costly  than  beans,  but 
some  think  they  will  go  further.  At  any 
rate  they  are  good  for  a  change.  It  would 
be  good  for  a  change  for  those  who  are  put 
to  their  wits'  end  to  know  how  to  get  food 
enough  to  feed  their  families,  if  any  thing 
that  we  have  said  shall  put  them  in  a  way 
of  changing  some  of  their  old  habits,  so  as 
to  buy  such  articles  as  will  satisfy  hunger, 
while  giving  them  health  and  strength,  for 
less  than  half  the  money  they  are  now 
expending,  though  living  only  half  comfort- 
ably. 

That  the  laboring  man  must  eat  meat  is  a 
fallacy.  I  have  seen  thousands  of  laboring 
men,  in  South  Carolina,  who  never  eat  meat. 
Thousands  of  others  do  not  eat  meat,  or 
food  made  of  meat,  oftener  than  once  a 
week.  Half  a  bushel  of  sweet  potatoes  is  a 
common  allowance  for  rice-field  hands  a 
week.  Sometimes  it  is  a  peck  of  rice,  or 


VITIATED   APPETITES.  335 

meal,  with  soup,  one  day  in  the  week,  made 
by  boiling  fifteen  pounds  of  meat,  with  crude 
vegetables,  in  eighty  quarts  of  water.  Upon 
such  diet  men  are  healthy,  if  not  strong. 

Dyspeptic  persons  may  enjoy  a  full  meal 
without  meat  vastly  to  their  benefit.  Bread 
and  potatoes ;  or  bread,  potatoes,  and  apples ; 
or  bready  potatoes,  apples,  and  squash ;  or  a 
hundred  other  combinations.  A  full  diet 
does  not  consist  in  any  given  number  or 
kind  of  articles ;  but  on  the  proper  quantity 
and  quality  of  some  or  all  kinds  of  food. 
Because  the  appetite  craves  meat,  does  not 
prove  it  necessary,  any  more  than  the  crav- 
ings of  vitiated  appetites  after  rum  and  to- 
bacco. Still,  I  do  not  recommend  all  to  dis- 
card meat.  I  only  ask  them  to  exercise 
more  economy  in  its  purchase  and  prepara- 
tion. 

TKA  AND  COFFEE. — As  I  do  not  discard 
meat  from  the  poor  man's  diet,  the  poor 
woman  will  of  course  console  herself  with 
the  hope  that  I  shall  not  discard  tea  and 
coffee. 

I  will  compromise  the  matter  by  allowing 


336  ECONOMY   ILLUSTRATED. 

her  to  retain  Hack  tea,  if  properly  made, 
though  it  certainly  is  not  a  necessary  article 
upon  any  table. 

If  black  tea  is  steeped  a  few  minutes  in 
the  usual  way  of  making  green  tea,  the  de- 
coction is  acrid  and  unpalatable.  If  boiled 
steadily  for  fifteen  to  thirty  minutes,  the 
resinous  substance  is  dissolved  and  the  flavor 
entirely  changed. 

I  never  use  green  tea,  and  never  recom- 
mend it  to  be  used,  because  it  is  a  manufac- 
tured article,  frequently  colored  with  delete- 
rious drugs.  COFFKE  I  never  use,  because 
experience  taught  me,  by  a  long  trial  of 
daily  use,  and  subsequent  well-managed  ex- 
periments upon  myself,  that  it  was  the  cause 
of  all  my  severe  suffering  from  nervous  and 
sick  headaches.  Because  I  know  this,  I  have 
discarded  its  use.  Coffee  is  not  food. 

And  certainly  for  all  those  who  buy  stuff 
called  "ground  coffee,"  I  would  recommend 
as  equally  nutritious,  and  far  more  healthy, 
a  decoction  of  burned  crusts,  burned  bran, 
burned  rye,  burned  peas,  burned  carrots, 
and  many  other  cheap  substances ;  and  if 


HEALTHY    DRINKS.  387 

not  aromatic  enough,  buy  the  "essence' of 
coffee,"  and  add  a  few  drops.  If  not  bitter 
enough,  add  quassia  chips.  If  not  astringent 
enough,  you  can  get  that  quality  from  oak 
bark,  cheaper  than  the  coffee  berry. 

Asparagus  seeds,  treated  just  like  coffee, 
make  a  decoction  undistinguishable  from  the 
real  Mocha  or  Java. 

But  as  long  as  pure  water  pours  down 
Niagara  Falls,  the  same  element  may  be 
poured  down  all  our  throats  far  more  eco- 
nomically, and  far  more  healthily,  than 
any  decoction  of  berries,  roots,  beans, 
grain,  or  any  brewing  or  distillation  of  the 
same. 

Of  the  economy  of  water  used  freely  upon 
the  exterior  also,  as  well  as  for  drink,  I  could 
not  say  too  much,  and  yet  have  not  room  to 
eay  but  these  few  words. 

If  you  wash  all  over  every  morning  with 
cold  water  as  a  regular  habit,  and  use  noth- 
ing but  cold  water  for  drink,  you  can  work 
all  day  in  a  cold  room  without  feeling  the 
want  of  iire,  and  your  health  will  be  such 
that  you  will  relish  plain,  coarse  food,  and 
15 


338  ECONOMY    ILLrisTHATED. 

thus  will  enjoy  the  benefit  of  economy  in  a 
three-fold  sense. 

VENTILATION. — Next  to  the  neglect  of  water 
— and,  in  fact,  it  should  rank  first — is  the 
neglect  of  air.  The  very  worst  economy  is 
that  which  poisons  people  with  dwellings 
that  have  no  VENTILATION. 

"Wherever  we  go,  we**  find  a  lamentable 
ignorance  of  the  laws  which  govern  the  hu- 
man system.  Among  the  laws  of  health,  no 
one,  perhaps,  merits  our  serious  attention 
more  than  that  of  fresh  air.  It  may  be  said 
with  truth,  that  not  one  building  in  a  thou- 
sand, in  this  country,  is  properly  ventilated. 
This  is  especially  the  case  with  regard  to  our 
school-houses,  churches,  halls,  and  other  pub- 
lic buildings,  where  large  bodies  of  peonle 
frequently  congregate.  In  our  churches  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  any  one  not  to  be 
struck  with  the  deficiency  in  means  of  ven- 
tilation ;  and  even  the  slight  means  which 
are  at  hand  are  generally  disregarded  :  the 
doors  are  closed,  and  windows  kept  down  in 
stifling  hot  weather,  as  though  fresh  air  were 
poison,  and  by  no  means  to  be  inhaled  e*- 


VENTILATION.  339 

cept  at  long  and  painful  intervals.  A  few 
moments'  sitting  convinces  any  one  accus- 
tomed to  breathing  real  and  substantial  air, 
that  he  is  killing  himself  by  degrees — a  feel- 
ing of  drowsiness  overcomes  him,  and  it  re- 
quires an  effort  on  his  part  to  prevent  him- 
self from  falling  asleep,  and  nodding  perhaps 
unwilling  coincidence  with  the  doctrines  held 
forth  in  the  pulpit.  It  is  no  extraordinary 
thing  for  us  to  see  men  and  women  asleep  in 
church,  and  it  is  very  common  to  hear  people 
declaim  against  it  as  a  sin  of  the  first  magni- 
tude. In  our  opinion  the  sin  consists  in 
going  where  fresh  air  is  a  rarity,  and  thus 
inhaling  poisonous  and  baleful  air,  to  the 
great  detriment  of  health  and  happiness. 
Let  churches,  school-houses,  and  all  other 
public  and  private  establishments,  be  venti- 
lated properly,  and  there  will  be  no  difficulty 
in  keeping  people  awake  with  a  very  ordi- 
nary sermon  or  lecture." 

In  all  our  tenant  houses  the  same  thing  pre- 
vails in  an  aggravated  form,  and  will  continue 
until  we  have  a  Board  of  Health  possessed 
of  power  to  guard  the  health  of  the  people. 


840  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

WASTK. — What  a  little  word  this  is;  but 
what  a  big  meaning  it  has !  It  seems  to  be 
in  some  way  inseparably  connected  with 
every  transaction  and  every  act  of  our  lives. 
Even  life  itself  is  one  continual  waste — ani- 
mals and  plants,  from  maturity  to  death ; 
but  that  is  natural  waste — nature  obeying 
nature's  laws.  The  waste  that  we  commit  is 
unnatural  and  contrary  to  the  laws  of  pro- 
priety and  common  sense. 

Look  into  every  kitchen ;  not  only  at  the 
fat  in  the  fire,  but  at  the  wasteful  manner  iii 
which  all  of  our  cooking  is  done  ;  besides 
the  waste  of  food  at  the  table.  See  how  that 
delicate  appetite — made  delicate  by  waste — 
picks  out  a  few  choice  morsels  and  carelessly 
casts  the  rest  aside  to  go  to  waste. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  more  food  is  wasted 
every  day  in  this  city  than  is  eaten  ;  not 
alone  in  the  kitchen  or  at  the  table,  but  in 
our  markets  and  store-houses,  where  whole 
cargoes  of  grain,  meal,  flour,  meat,  fish, 
fruits,  and  vegetables  are  continually  being 
wasted  through  bad  packing  or  bad  manage- 
ment. 


WASTK.  341 

What  a  waste,  too,  are  all  of  our  retail 
purchases ;  and,  because  it  is  fashionable, 
buying  food  that  wastes  the  most. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  poor  suffer  for 
food  after  committing  such  extravagant 
waste?  Look  at  that  man  paying  a  dollar 
and  a  half — the  price  of  a  whole  day's  work 
— for  a  rib-roast  of  beef,  to  be  cooked  in  the 
most  wasteful  way,  when  one  half  the  money 
expended  in  a  cheaper  piece  of  meat,  cooked 
in  a  different  manner,  with  vegetables,  bread, 
and  gravy,  would  serve  his  family  twice  as 
long.  But  not  so  fashionable  and  genteel. 
No,  and  not  so  wasteful.  Almost  the  whole 
system  of  American  cookery  is  based  upon  a 
state  of  things  that  existed  when  we  had  such 
a  surplus  of  food  that  the  idea  of  waste  was 
not  taken  into  account. 

There  was  a  time,  within  but  a  few  years 
past,  at  the  West,  when  wheat  could  be  pur- 
chased for  twenty-live  to  forty  cents  a  bushel, 
corn  for  ten  or  fifteen  cents,  pork  for  one  to 
two  cents  a  pound,  and  other  things  in  pro- 
portion. It  would  be  idle  to  talk  to  people 
about  saving  every  iota  of  such  cheap  food. 


342  ECONOMY    ILLUSTRATED. 

To  some  extent  the  same  cheapness  haa 
prevailed  all  over  America,  until  the  people 
have  fallen  into  wasteful  habits,  both  in 
keeping,  cooking,  and  eating  their  food,  that 
need  reform. 

It  is  probable  that  one  half  of  the  cooking 
in  the  kitchens  of  private  families,  in  this 
city,  is  done  by  Irish  servants,  who  possessed 
no  higher  art  when  they  landed  upon  our 
shores  than  is  required  to  boil  and  roast 
potatoes,  or  make  an  oatmeal  cake  or  mess 
of  porridge.  The  only  art  of  saving  they 
have  any  knowledge  of  is  not  to  have  any 
thing  to  save.  All  that  should  be  saved  is 
hurried  out  of  sight  in  the  basket  of  some  of 
their  own  countrymen  at  the  basement  door, 
thereby  encouraging  another  great  waste — 
the  waste  of  time  of  these  lazy  beggars. 

Some  men  waste  their  lives  in  finding  out 
cunning  inventions,  which  they  hide  under 
a  bushel,  or  in  some  other  wasteful  place, 
where  their  light  never  can  shine  out  upon 
the  world,  for  he  wastes  both  time  and 
money  in  not  letting  the  world  know  where 
he  keeps  his  wares  for  sale.  Neglecting  to 


NEATNESS OJRDER ECONOMY.  34:3 

advertise  is  a  waste  of  common  sense,  and 
of  that  there  is  a  greater  waste  than  of  all 
other  commodities  in  this  great  community. 

Finally,  we  have  only  touched  upon  food 
and  fuel,  the  two  most  important  items  of 
waste  in  our  economy  of  life,  without  touch- 
ing a  host  of  others  equally  deserving  notice. 

But  we  have  said  many  things  that  may 
be  read  with  profit  by  ever}7  person  who 
loves  neatness,  order,  economy,  good  food 
well  cooked,  and  all  the  Home  Comforts  of 
life  in  city  or  country.  And  all  such  we 
ask  to  read  this  book,  from  title-pase  to 


FINIS. 


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